The Canavese – Rome’s border in 100BC
Driving north on the A5 from Turin, you crest a rise to be presented with the area known as the ‘Canavese’.
This pre-Alpine territory is bordered to the north by the impressive Serra d’Ivrea, the morainic côte which marked the extent of the Monte Rosa glacier.
In 100BC, within this amphitheatre, the Romans founded the outpost of Eporedia, modern-day Ivrea, on the site of a tribal settlement. The name derives from the local tribes’ words for ‘horse’ and ‘cart’. The tribes went by the name Salassi.
The map (🗺️©️ MTW) shows the Dora Baltea as it passes from Valle d’Aosta into Piemonte, through the Canavese – which is covered by the Canavese DOC appellation (highlighted).