For some years, San Martino hill has been affected by a series of interventions that aim to return it to public use. In particular, archaeological investigations have started in 2003: they are bringing to light valuable evidence of the site presence in ancient times, ranging from the Middle Ages to the Roman period. These several findings are also monumental evidences that further enrich the hill, where two churches and a castle are also present.
Due to its physical conformation and its strategic position, San Martino hill has been an area of settlements since the most ancient times, the Roman presence is confirmed by the results of recent archaeological digs. Later Goths and Lombards settled there. The historian Paolo Diacono remembers Artenia among the seven castra in which the Lombards took refuge following the Avars raids in 610-611 AD.
The archaeological investigations on the hill confirm this information: the oldest wall structures date back to this period. The fortified settlement expanded and consolidated over time, so that for many centuries the hill was garnished by a mighty fortress consisting of a main nucleus placed on its top and enclosed by a crenellated curtain, later called “Upper Castle”, and by a second wall that was built in the middle of the hill, and which, at a later time, will give rise to the “Lower Castle”, which corresponds to Savorgnan castle.
