Narona


Narona was an Ancient Greek trading post on the Illyrian coast and later Roman city and bishopric, located in the Neretva valley in present-day Vid, Croatia, which remains a Latin Catholic titular see.

History

It was founded as a Greek emporium in c. 3rd/2nd century BC. First time it is mentioned in the chapter 24 of the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax. Narona became the major Roman stronghold in the 1st century BC. It was part of the Roman province of Dalmatia. In the 6th century AD, it came under Byzantine rule. The settlement ceased to be in 7th century after the arrival of Slavic tribes in the region.

Ecclesiastical history

The only recorded bishop was
  • Marcello, who attended councils of bishops at Salona in both named years.

    Titular see

It was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin Titular bishopric of Narona.
It has had the following incumbents, mostly of the fitting Episcopal rank, with an archiepiscopal exception :
In 1995 a Roman temple building was discovered, which had been dedicated by the governor Dolabella and contained statues of the emperors Claudius and Vespasian, as well as two of Augustus and his wife Livia. The statues had been vandalized in the 4th century: they were lying on the floor and their heads had been broken off. The heads of Vespasian and one of the Livias had been acquired in the surrounding area by Arthur Evans in 1878. The heads were thus reunited with their bodies. The famous Roman statues have toured major European museums.
A cathedral and at least two more churches were dug up.