Narona: the ancient Roman city on the Neretva at Vid
Narona was an ancient trading town and later Roman colony in the Neretva valley, on the site of today's village of Vid, about 4 km west of Metković in southern Dalmatia. Founded as a Greek trading post, it became a regional centre of Roman Dalmatia and a bishopric. Its finest discovery is the temple of the emperors, one of the best reasons for an archaeology stop in the Neretva delta area.
In 1995 archaeologists at Vid opened a Roman temple whose emperors' statues lay on the floor, heads broken off. Two of the missing heads had been in collections since 1878.
The history of Narona
Narona began as a Greek emporium, a trading place where imported Greek goods were sold to the Illyrian hinterland. The earliest written mention is in the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax, and the Greek writer Theopompus is cited as saying that Greek merchants sold ceramics here. Sources differ on the exact date of the foundation, placing the first settlement somewhere between the 5th and the 2nd century BC. The inhabitants were Greek colonists and Hellenised Illyrians, and the oldest fortifications found are two round towers on the hilltop.
From the 2nd century BC the town entered the Roman sphere of interest. In 156 BC and again in 135 BC it served as a base for Roman armies, and its loyalty to Rome made it a regular starting point for campaigns against the rebellious Delmatae. After Octavian captured it in 33 BC it became a Roman colony, Colonia Iulia Narona, and its population grew strongly. The town had a forum with public buildings, temples, baths and a theatre, and an inscription from the age of Augustus records three days of stage games given here. Narona was also the seat of a large judicial and administrative district, the Conventus Naronitanus, in the province of Dalmatia. The walls were renewed during the Marcomannic Wars.
Christianity left its mark as well. A diocese of Narona was established in 530, and its bishop Marcello attended church councils at Salona in 530 and 533. A cathedral and at least two more churches have been excavated. Pagan statues were damaged in the 4th century, and in later centuries the abandoned town was often plundered. Its end remains debated: coins of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius from 613/614 are among the latest finds, which points to the Avar and Slav invasions, though Croatian scholarship also argues the town simply faded away.
Systematic excavation began at the end of the 19th century with the Austrian archaeologist Carl Patsch, who located the forum and the city walls. Experts from the Archaeological Museum in Split later continued the work. The great discovery came in 1995, when a Roman temple, dedicated by the governor Dolabella, was found with statues of the emperors Claudius and Vespasian and two statues of Augustus and his wife Livia.
Curiosities about Narona
- The statues in the temple had been vandalised in the 4th century and were found lying on the floor with their heads broken off.
- Arthur Evans had acquired the heads of Vespasian and of one of the Livia statues in the surrounding area in 1878, so they could be reunited with their bodies more than a century later.
- The restored statues have toured major European museums.
- A Croatian linguist derives the name Narona from the river name Náron, from a root meaning “to dive”, the same one behind the Croatian verb noriti.
- In Venetian times there was an organised trade in artworks taken from Narona, and the sources suggest that many Venetian villas may be adorned with pieces from the site.
- Italian Wikipedia notes that the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Carus, who reigned in 282 and 283, may have been born at Narona.
Tours near Narona
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting Narona
- The remains lie in and around the village of Vid, about 4 km west of Metković, close to the Neretva, which is navigable from its mouth up to Narona.
- The temple of the emperors, the Augusteum, is the star find; the statues from it are linked to the Archaeological Museum of Narona at Vid. Check the current opening hours before you go.
- Excavations have also uncovered a cathedral, further churches, and parts of the forum and the city walls, but how much is visible on site today is not detailed in the sources.
- The Pelješac Bridge and the Walls of Ston are within reach by road, so Narona fits easily into a day through southern Dalmatia.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Narona is
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Questions
Where is Narona and how do you get there?
Narona lies at Vid, a village about 4 km west of Metković in the Neretva valley, southern Dalmatia. The Pelješac Bridge is roughly 18 km away.
What was Narona?
It was a Greek trading post that became a Roman colony, a judicial and administrative centre of the province of Dalmatia, and the seat of a bishopric.
What is the Augusteum of Narona?
It is a Roman temple found in 1995, dedicated by the governor Dolabella. It held statues of Claudius, Vespasian, Augustus and Livia.
What happened to the statues found at Narona?
They were vandalised in the 4th century and found with their heads broken off. Some heads, acquired by Arthur Evans in 1878, were reunited with the bodies.
When did Narona come to an end?
The town ceased to exist around the 7th century, probably after the Avar and Slav invasions, although some scholars say it simply declined.
Is there a museum at Narona?
Yes, the Archaeological Museum of Narona is in Vid. Check the current opening hours before visiting.
Also nearby
Pelješac Bridge
Pelješac · 2.4 km cable-stayed bridge opened in 2022
18 km away
Walls of Ston
Ston · Europe's “Great Wall”, built to guard salt
28 km away
Lovrijenac
Dubrovnik · rock fort with a famous freedom motto
63 km away
St Blaise's Church
Dubrovnik · Baroque church of the city's patron saint
63 km away