Il ruolo dei luoghi di culto e l’espansione di Roma in Italia centrale

Roman expansion in central Italy between 3rd and 2nd century BC took place within a varied territorial framework, where pre-Roman cult places were involved with population dynamics and territorial structures. They had primary religious significance as well as political and commercial functions. Roman colonial practice contemplated interventions to keep some Italic sanctuaries functioning, but also to install ex novo new sacred poles. From this perspective, Roman republican policy seems to attribute an active and dynamic role to the sacred sphere, which is both premise and sanction of the conquest. The contextual spread and diffusion of Roman religion and its official connotations played a prominent role in the political, territorial and cultural cohesion between Rome and its new territories