Usellus (;
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
: ''Uselis'' or ''Usellis'') is a town,
comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
(municipality) and former
bishopric
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
in the
Province of Oristano
The province of Oristano (; ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia, Italy. Its capital is the city of Oristano. There are 87 ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in the province.
It has an area of , a total populati ...
in the
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
region
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
.
Usellus borders the following ''comuni'':
Albagiara,
Ales,
Gonnosnò,
Mogorella,
Villa Verde,
Villaurbana.
History
Usellus is in the interior of Sardinia, about from the
Gulf of Oristano on the west coast, and the same distance south of Forum Trajani (modern
Fordongianus). Its name is not found in the
Itineraries, and the only ancient author who mentions it is
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
, with the name , who erroneously places it on the west coast of the island: but the existing ruins, together with the continuity of the name, leave no doubt of its true situation. It is about northeast of the modern town of Ales.
Ptolemy styles it a ''
colonia'', and this is confirmed by an inscription on a bronze tablet of AD158 (a ''tabula patronatus'', setting forth that M. Aristius Balbinus had accepted the position of patron of the town for himself and his heirs) that speaks of the place as ''Colonia Julia Augusta Uselis''. It would hence appear probable that the colony must have been founded under
Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
, though
Pliny asserts that Turris Libisonis (modern
Porto Torres
Porto Torres (; ) is a (municipality) and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as , it was the first Roman colony of the entire Sardinia, island. It is situated on the coast at abo ...
) was the only colony in Sardinia at his time (79 CE, hence after Augustus' reign) It may be that civic rights were obtained from Augustus.
Main sights
* The ruins of the church of ''Santa Reparata'' have been conserved.
It marks the site of the ancient town, and various antiquities have been found there.
References
External links
GCatholic - Diocese with incumbent bio links
Cities and towns in Sardinia
{{Sardinia-geo-stub