In the framework of archaeological surveys conducted in 2002-3 for the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell'Umbria around the Via Flaminia, the Società Cooperativa Kronos discovered the site known as the “Villa of Rufio” (the name comes from an inscription dedicated to Caius Iulius Rufio). After 4 excavation campaigns (2003-6) the monumental character of a large villa was established, and in 2007 a team from the University of Alicante led by the first-named author began fieldwork, focusing on the analysis of agricultural and commercial production patterns through an examination of the type of manpower in use during the Augustan era. The site lies in the village of Giano dell'Umbria (Perugia), in the foothills of Gualdo Cataneo-Montefalco of southern Umbria (fig. 1). To the north is the Roman town of Mevania (Bevagna), to the south the Martani mountains, at the foot of which lies Mansio Ad Martis (Massa Martana).

The sacred topography of cities throughout the empire was transformed under Augustus. The remodeling of sacred spaces and buildings, the proliferation of sacred images and references to Augustus, and the redefinition of local cults within an imperial system — in effect, the emergence of the imperial cult — all affected provincial centers, where political and divine powers were expressed through art and monumental architecture. The imperial cult was a complex phenomenon, involving an interplay between imperial expectations and local initiatives. It was reinforced through a variety of media, from a new iconography of coinage to a new epigraphy of “monumental writing” across the Mediterranean. The imperial message promised a golden age of peace through divine intervention, cultural rectitude through pietas, and prosperity through the beneficence of the emperor. Colonies founded by Caesar and Augustus in the provinces responded fervently and competitively to the Augustan message, while aiming to enhance their already-considerable imperial favor.

The religious landscapes of Republican-era urban communities in central and southern Italy were built on complex relationships between the inhabitants and their sacred spaces. The critical need to defend sacred sites such as temples, shrines and altars contributed directly to the shaping of urban centers and the formation of their cultural identities. Many urban centers had a separate citadel where communities protected their sanctuaries behind fortifications. In a reciprocal process the gods protected settlements. Some city gates (e.g., Volterra, Perugia, Falerii Novi) still carry prominent adornments in the form of busts and reliefs that evoke implicit civic and religious associations. The deities' presence implies a complex political and social interaction between the population, protective gods, and fortifications. As tutelary deities, their manipulation whether by a local élite or by a power such as Rome was an important part of the definition and appropriation of local identity.