Luna Amphitheater

The ruined Roman city of Luna, Liguria, Italy, July 1976. It was originally a frontier town in Etruria on the River Macra which formed the border with Liguria. In 177 BC Rome captured it and built the city over the following centuries. It became an important port on the Gulf of La Spezia. However, by the 5th Century the city was in decline; in the 6th and 7th Centuries it was conquered by the Goths, Byzantines and Lombards and in the 9th Century it was sacked by the Saracans and then Vikings. However, in the 10th Century the city recovered and once more it became very prosperous but in 1015 it was largely destroyed by the Andalusians and Sardinians. With the eventual silting up of the port and the spread of Malaria, the remaining population abandoned the settlement in 1058, moving to Sarzana.