Narona/nəˈroʊnə/ (
Ancient Greek: Ναρῶνα) was an Ancient Greek trading post on the Illyrian coast and later
Roman city and bishopric, located in the
Neretva valley in present-day
Bosnia, 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.[1] Narona became the major Roman stronghold in the 1st century BC.[2] 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
In 530 was established a Diocese of Narona (Latin = Curiate Italian) / Naronen(sis) (Latin adjective), apparently
suffragan of the Metropolitan
Archdiocese of Salona (now Split).
Titular Archbishop: John Bulaitis (born England, UK) (1981.11.21 – 2010.12.25) as papal diplomat :
Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Republic of Congo (1981.11.21 – 1987.07.11), Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Central African Republic (1981.11.21 – 1987.07.11), Apostolic Delegate to Chad (1981.11.21 – 1987.07.11), Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Iran (1987.07.11 – 1991.11.30), Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Korea (1991.11.30 – 1997.03.25),
Apostolic Nuncio (ambassador) to Mongolia (1992.09.08 – 1997.03.25), Apostolic Nuncio to Albania (1997.03.25 – 2008.07.26); died 2010
Helmut Karl Dieser (2011.02.24 – 2016.09.23) as Auxiliary Bishop of
Trier (western
Germany) (2011.02.24 – 2016.09.23); later Bishop of
Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany) (2016.09.23 – ...)
Heriberto Cavazos Pérez (2016.10.31 – ...), as Auxiliary Bishop of
Monterrey (
Mexico) (2016.10.31 – ...).
Archeology
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.
^Pliny, Historia Naturalis 3.142; G.Alföldy, Bevölkerung und Gesellschaft der römischen Provinz Dalmatien (Budapest 1965) p. 135; J. J. Wilkes, Dalmatia (London 1969) p. 160.
^C. L. de Voinovitch, Histoire de la Dalmatie, 2008, p. 219.