Aerofotografia e geofisica nella Valle del Misa (Ancona): nuovi dati per la topografia urbana di Ostra

The paper presents the results of the latest season of research (2012-2013) carried out by the University of Bologna in the valley of the Misa River, in the northern Marche region (central Italy), and in particular in the roman town of Ostra, where the University of Bologna has been working since 2005 in collaboration with the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici delle Marche. The most recent excavations cast new light on the urban topography of the city, which was born during the 3rd century BC but involved into a relevant monumental building programme from the half of the 1st century BC, when became municipium. The research here exposed has adopted a holistic approach to the context of study, which considers all the aspects of the landscape, from the historical to the geomorphological point of view, with a more and more systematic use of non-invasive diagnostic techniques. In this work, aerial surveys and geophysics played a key role, allowing the discovering of several important buildings, monuments and evidence, which are largely contributing to the comprehension of the urban texture of the roman city and of the ancient roads system, as well as of the human settlement dynamics in this sector of the middle valley.