Lecture Access

This lecture will be available to view until 7 December 2026

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OVERVIEW

Watch on Demand | Online Lectures


Few cities of the ancient world rose so high and vanished so completely. 

Founded by Rome in 181 BC as a military colony to defend the empire's north-eastern frontier, Aquileia stood at the head of the Adriatic, where the River Natissa carried trade between the Mediterranean and the heart of Europe. Within a century it had grown into one of the richest and most populous cities of the Roman world, its wealth reflected in grand public buildings, lavish residences, and a thriving river port.

Aquileia's significance was not only commercial. As Christianity spread, its patriarchal basilica—home to a magnificent fourth-century mosaic floor—became a powerful force in the conversion of central Europe. Yet its prosperity made it a target, and in AD 452 Attila's Huns left the city in ruins, beginning a long decline. Today most of Aquileia still lies unexcavated, the greatest archaeological reserve of its kind.

In this lecture, Dr Eireann Marshall traces the extraordinary arc of Aquileia, from imperial powerhouse to one of history's most evocative ruins.

LECTURER

Biography

Eireann is an Honorary Research Associate and Associate Lecturer with The Open University. Raised in the Veneto and educated at Barnard College, Columbia University, and the Universities of Birmingham and Exeter, she brings a rich international perspective to classical civilisation. With extensive experience as a lecturer and tour leader across Italy, Tunisia, Sicily and beyond including Venice, Pompeii and Ravenna – Eireann is bilingual in English and Italian, and combines scholarly rigour with engaging storytelling. Her lectures for Academy Travel invite listeners to explore the ancient world not just as history but as a living dialogue between past and present – bringing monuments, art and ideas vividly to life.

Dr Eireann Marshall

Classicist & Historian