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BOVA MARINA, Italy - Archeologists in this remote coastal area of southern Italy have discovered the ruins of a synagogue built at the time of the Roman Empire.

The ruins, which could prove to be the oldest remains of a synagogue ever found in Europe, are expected to produce abundant new information on poorly documented aspects of the Jewish Diaspora, the dispersion of Jews after the Babylonian exile.

''This is a rare find of very great importance, and it is a complete surprise,'' said Rabbi Elio Toaff, chief rabbi of the Rome synagogue. Rabbi Toaff, who assisted in the preliminary analysis of the ruins, added, ''The excavation could dramatically increase our knowledge of how Jews lived under the empire.''

The site, which was discovered accidentally by road construction workers three years ago, was presumed to be an ordinary Roman settlement until early this year. Then, a floor mosaic was identified as depicting the Jewish menorah, or seven-branched candelabrum.

''The menorah mosaic along with a number of unusual architectural features allowed us to conclude that this small complex of rooms was a synagogue,'' said Dr. Elena Lattanzi, superintendent for archeology for the Calabria region.

Dr. Lattanzi, whose office is supervising the excavation, plans to make the first formal public presentation of her findings later this month at a conference in Rome. Isolated Way Station

The excavation site lies amid lemon orchards here at the southern extremity of the Italian penninsula's ''toe,'' where a small but verdant valley comes down to the Ionic Sea. The synagogue apparently was part of an isolated settlement that grew up around a ''statio,'' or way station, on a Roman road where travelers could rest and change horses.

''No one had any idea a Jewish community existed there,'' said Rabbi Toaff, who checked the Rome rabbinate's archives on behalf of the superintendent. ''Indeed,'' he said, ''we have only very limited information of any kind on Jewish life in southern Italy during the empire.''

Without any documentary sources to substantiate the existence of a synagogue in the area, Dr. Lattanzi relied on a preliminary analysis of evidence gathered from the site to make the identification. He was familiar with Jewish iconography of the period, having participated in the excavation of a Jewish catacomb several years ago.

The mosaic, which is divided into 16 medalions, was just below the ground surface and was badly damaged, apparently by plowing. However, several distinctive features common to designs of the menorah found in other Jewish sites dating from the empire are still visible, Dr. Lattanzi and Rabbi Toaff said. Paticularly notable are the three-pronged base, the small spheres that make up the branches of the candlesticks, and the small oil lamps at the end of each branch.

In examining the floor plans of other synagogues built in Asia Minor during the same period, Rabbi Toaff found a number of structural similarities with the square room where the mosaic lies. The most important indication that this building was a synagogue is a small, semicircular niche in one wall that usually served as place of safekeeping for the sacred torah scrolls. Clues to Diaspora

Only one other synagogue building of the classical era has been found in Europe, and that was at Ostia Antica, the excavated city that was once Rome's seaport. ''The Ostia synagogue served a big community near the capital of the Empire,'' Dr. Lattanzi said, ''Now, we have found a small temple in a very provincial and rural setting.'' The new site could become an important source of data on the Diaspora that followed the destruction of Solomon's temple in 70 A.D., Rabbi Toaff said.

Communities of Jewish merchants developed in Italy as early as the second century B.C. Following the destruction of Solomon's temple, waves of Jews arrived in Italy, mostly through the southern ports. Some remained in Italy and others traveled on to other parts of Europe.

Rabbi Toaff speculated that the newly discovered Jewish settlement was founded as an agricultural or commercial community and then perhaps prospered by providing a resting point for Jews on their way north.