Soluntum or Solus was an ancient city on the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily, near present-day Porticello in the comune of Santa Flavia, Italy.

It was destroyed at the beginning of the fourth century BC and re-founded on its present site atop Monte Catalfano.

After a short piece, the Carthaginians besieged Syracuse in 398 BC, whose tyrant Dionysius I managed to fend them off, recapture most of the lost territory.

The location of the city atop Monte Catalfano made it easy to defend, but difficult to supply with goods and food.

In the first century BC, Soluntum was one of the main exceptions to this pattern, inhabited by rich citizens, as the sumptuous decoration of the various houses shows.

[23] A Latin dedicatory inscription survives from the city, erected by the citizens in honour of Fulvia Plautilla, the wife of emperor Caracalla.

One of them records that Antallus son of Asclapus from the family of the Ornichi paid for the main street to be paved from his own funds.

- -] Σέξστον Πεδο̣[υκαῖον] ἀντιστρά̣[τηγον] τὸν αὐτῶν [πάτρωνα] εὐνοίας ἕ[νεκα] The League ... (honours) Sextus Peduceus the propraetor, their patron, for his good will.

[31] The first excavations were carried out in 1825 by Domenico Lo Faso Pietrasanta and published in his Le antichità della Sicilia.

Francesco Saverio Cavallari carried out systematic excavations from 1856, following his appointment as the first professor of archaeology at the University of Palermo.

From 1988, Armin Wiegand investigated the theatre, eventually publishing a study of the building[32] Markus Wolf has worked on the agora[33] and the houses of the city, with a special focus on the gymnasium.

[34] In 2014, Alberto Sposito published an architectural study, presenting all excavated buildings and the current state oft heir remains.

Despite the uneven terrain, the city's streets were laid out in a regular grid pattern, in accordance with the Hippodamian system.

[36] Although the overall character of the city is Greco-Roman, there are also elements that researchers have attributed to Punic cultural background, especially in the religious sphere.

The floors of many of the houses employ the opus signinum technique, which developed in Carthage in the third century BC and only spread through the Roman empire later.

At the south end, there was an open courtyard, next to the frigidarium which was originally decorated with a geometric mosaic – now completely destroyed.

There appears to have been a doorway or gate at the southern entrance since remains of a stone threshold and a large six-pointed star made of plaster were found there.

[24] Left side: ἐπὶ ἱεροθύτα Φίλωνος Ἀπ[ολλωνίου] Ἀρίστω[ν] Ἀ[πολλωνίο]υ τὸν π[ατέρα] Ἀπολλώνιον Ἀ[ρίστωνος ἀμ]φιπ[ολή]σα[ντα] Διὶ Ὀλυμπίωι καὶ θεοῖς πᾶσι

Right side: ἐπὶ ὶεροθύτα Φίλω[νος] Ἀρίστωνος Ἀπολλώνιος καὶ Φ[ίλων] καὶ Ἀρίστων Ἀρίστωνος τὸν πατέρα Ἀρίστ[ωνα Ἀ]πολλωνίου ἀμφιπολήσαντα Διὶ Ὀλυμπίωι καὶ θεοῖς πᾶσι Left side: In the priesthood of Philon son of Apollonius, Ariston son of Apollonius (set up this statue of) his father Apollonius son of Ariston, who had been amphipolus for Zeus Olympius and all the gods."

[58] The houses – like most buildings of the city – were built from two kinds of stone: hard grey dolomite from Monte Catalfano itself and a chalky sandstone from nearby quarries.

[62] In the centre of the west side of the courtyard was the triclinium (dining room), with wall paintings which are relatively well preserved.

A large room accessed from the Via Ippodamo da Mileto contained stone troughs, which indicates that it was used as a stable.

opposite the entrance was the exedra, the main room of the house, which was decorated with a geometric mosaic, that shows a circle with a maeander frame.

[61] The House of the Garlands (Italian: Casa delle Ghirlande) in Insula X is right at the northern end of the city, north of the Agora and most of the other excavated buildings.

Necropoleis were found during the excavations at the foot of Monte Catalfani, very near the modern train station of Santa Flavia.

The tombs are typically Punic grave chambers cut into the cliff face, with a staircase for access.

[73][6] Until 2009, visitors were only allowed to visit the Antiquarium, which had an exhibition of various finds from the site, with a description of the architecture and information on the lives of the city's inhabitants.

Since 2009, the excavated area has been open to visitors as the Archaeological Park of Soluntum (Italian: Parco Archeologico di Solunto).

[74] The closest train station, Santa Flavia-Solunto-Porticello, on the Palermo-Agrigento-Porto Empedocle railway line [it], is about 2 km from the park.

The second style paintings, which were discovered in the 19th century, are better preserved since they were removed from the walls and placed into the excavation storerooms immediately after discovery.