Sallianense

Unearthed whispers of Sallianense. Picture this ancient rural settlement near Trezzo sull’Adda. Sallianense thrived from the 5th to the 16th centuries. Archaeologists from Milan’s Catholic University uncovered its secrets in 2005. Three excavation campaigns revealed the foundations of two religious buildings. A cemetery lay nearby. Sallianense’s name hints at a pre-Roman root. Its evolution through centuries is fascinating. It morphed from Sallianense to Salianense Sanginese Sanginesio Sinesio Ginesio Ginese and finally Cinese. A plot called Cinesi near a wood still echoes this name. Local elders recall a “field of the Chinese.” Agricultural work and land leveling erased Sallianense’s upper layers. The deeper foundations of buildings and tombs remained. The larger building faced east. It predated the 13th century. This was likely the church of San Michele. The adjacent cemetery held approximately ninety burials. Radiocarbon dating placed them between the 13th and 14th centuries. Some bodies were buried directly in the earth. Others rested in brick tombs. Anthropological studies revealed the community’s hard agricultural life. High rates of consanguinity emerged. Two female graves held iron keys near their pelvises. Two other females wore bronze rings. The second building pre-dated the 13th century. It was a meter lower than San Michele facing north. Its construction was simpler with foundations of pebbles and basic mortar. Only its foundations survived near the cemetery. Excavations in the 1970s destroyed much of it. Northwest of the site Roman ceramic fragments from the 5th and 6th centuries surfaced. A 3rd-century coin and a Neolithic worked flint also emerged. Sallianense offers a glimpse into daily life in medieval Italy. Its history is deeply ingrained in the very earth of Trezzo sull’Adda. Its story continues to unfold with each new discovery.