Oderzo

Lore & Background

The earliest settlement of Oderzo dates to the Iron Age, around the 10th century BC. From the mid-9th century BC, the Veneti occupied the site and gave it its name, with '-terg-' in Opitergium stemming from a Venetic root meaning market. Its location on the Venetian plain between the Monticano and Navisego rivers made it ideal for trade. The Veneti maintained friendly relations with the Romans, and the town was granted Latin rights in 89 BC via the Lex Pompeia de Transpadanis. The Via Postumia, finished in 148 BC, connected Genua to Aquileia and increased Oderzo's importance. During the Roman Civil War, centurion Caius Volteius Capito led men from Oderzo to fight for Julius Caesar, who exempted the town from conscription for 20 years and enlarged its territory. In 48 BC, Oderzo was elevated to a Roman municipium.

Reader's Guide

Oderzo achieved its greatest splendor during the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, with a population of about 50,000. It lent its name to the Venetian lagoon (laguna opitergina) and the Cansiglio mountains (montes opitergini). Roman authors such as Claudius Ptolomeus, Strabo, Pliny the Elder, Lucan, Tacitus, Livy, and Quintilian mention the city. However, prosperity made it a target: it was sacked by Marcomanni and Quadi in 167 AD, and later attacked by Visigoths, Huns, and Ostrogoths. Under the Byzantine Empire, Oderzo became a major center within the Exarchate of Ravenna, with a dux as chief official. It was held by the Byzantines until its destruction by Lombard king Grimoald in 667/8, after which much of its population fled to Heraclea and Equilium. According to Venetian tradition, one refugee was Paolo Lucio Anafesto, the first Doge of Venice. Oderzo was not rebuilt until about AD 1000, and became a stable possession of the Republic of Venice in 1380. It was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy in 1866 and damaged in World War I. In 1943 it was a center of civil war, and in 1945, 120 people suspected of allegiance to the Italian Social Republic were executed in the Oderzo Massacre.

Did You Know?

• Oderzo was granted Latin rights in 89 BC via the Lex Pompeia de Transpadanis and became a Roman municipium in 48 BC.
• The city was destroyed by Lombard king Grimoald in 667/8, and according to tradition, a refugee was the first Doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto.
• The town's name Opitergium derives from a Venetic root word meaning market.