The Church of San Primitivo in Gabii: From the origin to the Ruins

The church of San Primitivo is a construction dates back to the fourth century A.D. Its remains arise within the archaeological area of Gabii, an ancient Roman city along the ancient Via Prenestina, whose pavement is partially excavated, a few meters away from the church. Currently, part of the perimeter walls, bell tower and the frescoed crypt are preserved. A pre-existing apsidal wall, from the Roman era, was incorporated into the structure, but collapsed in 1903. The first certain information regarding the building dates back to 1030, but from the analysis of the complex stratigraphy of the building, it was possible to go back a long way, to the dawn of the Middle Ages. The analysis of the walls and comparisons with types of churches with similar planimetric characteristics provided useful information for interpreting the presence of particular bi-apsidal conformation, which turned out to be the result of two distinct construction phases. The church was in use until the thirteenth century and then, due to the progressive abandonment of the area, it had become the only inhabited place in that area. The different construction phases can also be identified in the bell tower, which also shows a masonry at the top, specifying period of phase subsequent to the abandonment of the church dates back to the end of the 13th century, when it was used as a lookout tower along the Via Prenestina. What is published is the first scientific survey of the building.