Monteu da Po was an ancient settlement of theLigures. Its pre-Roman name, which appears on inscriptions of the early imperial period, wasBodincomagus from the Ligurian name of thePo,Bodincus, which meant "bottomless".[3]
In Roman times it became the flourishingcolonia namedIndustria, positioned in the Augustan Regio IX, and enrolled in thetribus Pollia. It was an important river port and market place. Indeed, at that age, thepagus stood on the right bank of the river Po, which has since changed its course, and flows now a kilometer further north.[4]
Excavations have brought to light a tower, a cult building (previously identified as a theatre), a sanctuary ofIsis, valuable bronze figures (some of them made locally), shops, and inscriptions. Industria appears to have been deserted in the fourth century CE, probably due toBarbarians raids.[4]
