 Instead, Roman culture merged with the native one slowly, probably accompanied by cross-cultural marriages.The Romanisation of Luceria dates to the Republican era, but the city actually became important later on, in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, under the Roman Empire.At this time there were small neighbouring villages south of the "rio Vico", which still exist today, such as "Vico" (Latin for "village"), "Taverne" (from the Latin "Tabernae") and "Carbonizzo" (from "carbonescere", "to collect charcoal").