Roman Centuriation System

Roman Centuriation in The Friuli Region

Roman Centuriation in Ravosa and nearby Villages. Circles indicate Roman Findings, Asterisks indicate Lombard Findings

The rigid mental schemes of the Romans led them to divide space in virgin lands geometrically. The orientation of this geometrical division followed the course of the main rivers and the inclination of the land, generally in a direction South/SouthEast - North/NorthWest. The land was divided into a hundred square pieces of 20 x 20 actus (710,40 x 710,40 metres, roughly 50 hectares) called 'centuries'. To this day, in the Friuli Region, a large field, 'Ciamp grand' = 5047 m2 and is the 100th part of a century. A small field, 'Ciamp pizzul' = 3364 m2 and is the 150th part of a century. The medieval Friulian 'Maso' was a feudal property equal to 25 large fields, i.e., a quarter of a century.