Atilia Sabina's tomb, Ancient Roman sarcophagus in Broletto, Novara, Italy
Atilia Sabina's tomb is a Roman sarcophagus made from serizzo stone located in Novara's Broletto. The stone vessel displays carefully carved surfaces and bears an inscription with the name of the deceased.
Found in 1675 at an unspecified site in the Novarese area, the casket passed to the Caroelli family at Garbagna Novarese. In 1930 its owner Buslacchi, who used it as a watering trough for livestock in the Bassini family's stable, donated it to the Lapidario of the Novara cathedral museums. It has been kept in the Broletto of Novara since 1998.
The inscriptions and carved details tell us how important people were buried in Roman times. You can learn from these marks what position this person held in the community.
The tomb is located within the Broletto complex and is best visited during the building's regular opening hours. It helps to check beforehand about guided tours that can provide more context about this Roman find.
For over two centuries it was believed that the Trivulzio Diatreta, a 4th-century glass cup, came from this tomb, following an error by Lazzaro Agostino Cotta in 1701 repeated by Theodor Mommsen in CIL V (1877). A document from the Capitular Archive of Novara Cathedral published in 1964 finally disproved the link.
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