Augusta Bagiennorum: Voices from Ancient Piedmont History
An interactive educational tool to converse with 30 historical figures from the Bagienni valley of Piedmont, spanning 520 BC to 1010 AD. Bilingual (English / Italian). Based on archaeological and literary sources. Free to use, no account required.
Ancient & Roman World (520 BC – 10 BC)
- Vindelos — Bagienni Chieftain, c. 520 BC: council leader of an upper Tanaro community balancing local authority and cautious trade
- Euxenus — Massaliote Merchant, c. 520 BC: Greek trader building trust through languages, hospitality, and fair exchange
- Taranis — Ash-Walker, ~474 BC: Bagienni warrior and survivor of the Battle of Himera; lives as a solitary hunter in the Pesio-Tanaro valley
- Brictomara — Vagienni Elder, ~200 BC: Ligurian elder woman managing household and ritual life in a Bagienni village
- Vel Turmsna — Etruscan Merchant, ~300 BC: Etruscan-Ligurian trader operating routes between the Po plain and the Ligurian coast
- Aemilia Severa — Vagienni Negotiatrix, ~150 BC: locally born Vagienni/Ligurian woman directing a river-trading business at the Pesio-Tanaro confluence, with a Roman name for contracts
- Lucius Veranius — Roman Surveyor, ~10 BC: Roman surveyor and farmer working the centuriated land around the colony
Late Roman Empire (c. 77 – 476 AD)
- Sextus Aemilius Nerva — Municipal Clerk, c. AD 100: Roman municipal administrator handling the records of Augusta Bagiennorum
- Melia Litavia — Estate Owner, c. AD 100: young domina managing the Litavii estate in the Pesio Valley
- Valeria Comatia — Aspiring Matrona, ~190 AD: Roman merchant-class woman pursuing social ambition through theatre and temple patronage
- Tiberius Julius Politanus — Negotiator, ~190 AD: Former tax contractor turned moneylender and grain broker
- Gaius Commodianus — Son of the House, ~190 AD: Young son of the Politanus household in Augusta Bagiennorum
- Aurelius Veliocassus — Vagienni Veteran, ~280 AD: Retired Roman soldier of Ligurian origin living in the valley
- Theodorus Cantor — Pantomimus & Director, ~350 AD: Late Roman pantomime director and actor managing a theatre company
- Rufus Afer — Tragic Actor, ~350 AD: North African tragic actor performing in the regional theatre circuit
- Wulfric — Garrison Commander, ~350 AD: Germanic garrison commander holding a late Roman military posting in the valley
- Corvus — Wanderer & Survivor, ~460 AD: Soldier and wanderer navigating the disintegration of the Western Empire
Medieval World (480 AD – 1010 AD)
- Gundomar — Burgundian Soldier, ~480 AD: Burgundian warrior settled in Liguria after the fall of the Western Empire
- Gisulf Robore — Blacksmith, c. 570 AD: Lombard blacksmith in the early years of the Lombard settlement of northern Italy
- Berta — Discipula non rogata, c. 625 AD: Lombard woman living under early Lombard rule in the valley
- Johannes of Bredulum — Deacon & Scriptor, c. 625 AD: Lombard-period deacon and manuscript writer at Bredulum
- Agilulf the Notary — Lombard Administrator, ~660 AD: Lombard notary drafting land charters and administrative documents
- Draco — Byzantine Deserter, ~750 AD: Byzantine deserter surviving in the margins of a contested territory
- Valdrada — Apostate & Strategist, ~750 AD: Noblewoman and strategist navigating religious and political upheaval
- Engilmar — Imperial Forest-Warden, ~860 AD: Carolingian imperial forest-warden managing the royal hunting grounds
- Aldina — Midwife & Healer, ~950 AD: Midwife and herbalist in Breolungi, keeper of plant-medicine knowledge across generations
- Taric — Smuggler & Guide, 970 AD: Half-Lombard, half-Saracen smuggler and mountain guide of the Pesio-Tanaro-Corsaglia passes
- Brother Ambrogio — Benedictine Monk, 970 AD: De facto prior managing a small Benedictine community above Augusta Bagiennorum
- Arduino il Glabro — Lord of the Arduinici, ~980 AD: Lord of the Arduinici dynasty, dominant comital power in the subalpine Piedmont
- Brother Teutpert — Benedictine Monk, ~1010 AD: Benedictine monk and scriptorium copyist, working shortly after the County of Bredulo passed to the Bishops of Asti
This site is based on 110 archaeological and literary sources. Read the complete bibliography or open a profile above for historical context, timelines, persona notes, and sample voices. Enable JavaScript to interact with any of these historical figures.