History
Emona, formally known as Colonia Iulia Aemona, was a Roman settlement established around AD 14–15 at the foot of Castle Hill, on the navigable course of the Nauportus River. Founded as a colony of settlers from northern Italy, it occupied a position on the route linking Aquileia with the Balkans. The town was laid out on a rectangular grid with a central forum, strong defensive walls, and cemeteries lining the main roads leading toward Celeia, Neviodunum, and Aquileia. Its population is estimated at 5,000–6,000, composed largely of merchants and craftsmen.
During the first centuries of its existence, Emona grew rapidly. It maintained its own administrative territory, stretching from the Karawanks in the north to the Kolpa River in the south. Inscriptions and archaeological evidence attest to a local cult dedicated to the goddess Equrna. By the 4th century the city had also become an important Christian centre, its bishopric maintaining close ties with Milan. Archaeological traces of baptisteries and house churches illustrate this new role in the later Roman period.
Emona was not untouched by the turbulence of Late Antiquity. The Visigoths camped outside its walls in 408/9, the Huns attacked in 452, and the Lombards passed through in 568. Despite these disruptions, the city endured into the early 6th century, when invasions by Avars and Slavs, combined with economic decline, brought about its abandonment. Though life in Emona ceased, its legacy persisted. From the Renaissance onwards, Ljubljana’s elites drew on the city’s Roman past, even connecting its origins to the legend of Jason and the Argonauts.
Remains
Archaeological investigation, carried out intensively since the early 20th century, has revealed substantial remains of Emona across the centre of modern Ljubljana. Sections of the Roman defensive walls survive, some integrated into parks redesigned in the 20th century by the architect Jože Plečnik. Tombstones, statues, mosaics, and domestic architecture have been uncovered during building works.
Two archaeological parks present parts of Emona to visitors. The Emona House on Mirje Street preserves the foundations, mosaics, and hypocaust heating system of a Roman dwelling. Its careful restoration allows insight into urban life, including the sewer system and heating technology. Another excavated house on Erjavčeva Street shows later adaptation: in the 4th–5th century it contained a baptismal pool, providing evidence of an early Christian community.
Other finds include boundary stones confirming Emona’s integration within Roman Italy, fine glassware produced with the millefiori technique, and numerous sepulchres from the surrounding cemeteries. Together these remains demonstrate Emona as a Roman colony, its adaptation during the Christian era, and its place within the broader history of the Empire’s eastern Alpine frontier.
Nearby sites
