Nuovi dati sul tracciato della Catina Agrigentum: insediamento e viabilità nella Piana di Catania (Sicilia Orientale)

The paper presents new data useful for the reconstruction of the route of the via Catina Agrigentum, on the basis of the research carried out in the western margins of the Catania Plain. The viability was a fundamental element of the rural landscape of Roman Sicily, whose understanding is possible thanks to the long-term perspective offered by the Ancient Topography approach. The updated archaeological map is the result of systematic surveys in the valleys of the Simeto, Dittaino and Margi rivers conducted from 1997 to 2007, territories comprised in the IGM Tablets F. 269 II NO Monte Turcisi, F. 269 III SE Ramacca, F. 269 III NE Castel di Iudica and F. 269 III SO La Callura. On the basis of the settlement systems changes in the area that took place between the Hellenistic and the Roman Imperial ages, it is possible to recognize in the viability one of the main elements of attraction of the population and economic trends of Catina's hinterland. In fact, through the analysis of the distribution of the recorded archaeological evidences dating to the Roman age, and historical cartography and photography it is possible to hypothesize the path of the road connecting Catania to Agrigento. The road ran through the territory in an East-West direction and constituted the main infrastructure of the territory: on the basis of the new archaeological data presented, it is possible to analyze the local rural landscape, a complex network of rural sites of different sizes (vici, farms and villae), contributing to the understanding of the narrative consistency of Sicilia frumentaria.