66938 - Etruscology and Italic Archaeology (D)

Learning outcomes

The aim of this course is to offer a thorough knowledge on some aspects and contexts of the Etruscan civilization. It will provide the critical tools needed to read archaeological documents as well as outlining  methods to carry out research on this civilization.

Course contents

First part (Prof. G. Sassatelli): Etruscan Princes between Mediterranean Sea and Europe The Etruria and relations with the East between the eighth and sixth centuries BC The birth of the aristocracy in Etruria and the formation of the city. The Eastern models of kingship and power and their transmission in the West. The princely residences: the palace and its architectural decoration. The funerary architecture: the birth of the tomb chamber and the mound and the first experiences of wall painting. Ceremonial and ancestor worship in the building and in the burial. Imports from the East and the local artistic production in relation to aristocratic power. The introduction of the greek myth. The practice of "gift" and trade. The Etruria and relations with Transalpine Europe. Bologna and the Po Valley as a trasmission point to the Italic cultures of northern Italy and to the principles of the Celts. The arrival in the North of the lifestyle of the princes of the Mediterranean sea.    

Second part (C. Pizzirani): Po Valley Etruria

The birth of the Etruscan cities of Bologna and Verucchio and territorial development during the Villanovan and Orientalizing. The expressions of aristocratic power from burial to funerary sculpture in stone. The restructuring of the entire Po valley during the sixth century. The foundation of new urban centers, such as Marzabotto, Spina, Forcello Bagnolo San Vito (Mantova) and other smaller towns. The system of trade and manufacturing center of Etruria Po Valley and the complex network of relations with Etruria Tyrrhenian, with the Adriatic Sea and the world greek, and with northern Italy and transalpine world. The funerary ideology between the sixth and fourth centuries BC. B.C. through the analysis of the necropolis of Bologna, Marzabotto, Spina and other smaller towns. The funeral sculptures of Bologna as an expression of civic system. The crisis generated by the invasion of the Gauls and the end of the Etruscan settlements in the Po valley.

Guided tours are available at major museums and archaeological sites in the region, the dates of which will be communicated at the beginning of the course. Attendance to the course is highly recommended.

Readings/Bibliography

First part:  Etruscan Princes between Mediterranean Sea and Europe

AA.VV., Principi etruschi tra Mediterraneo ed Europa (Catalogo della Mostra, Bologna), Bologna 2000 (saggi generali e saggi introduttivi alle sezioni tematiche della Mostra).  G. Colonna -F. v. Hase, Alle origini della statuaria etrusca: la tomba delle statue presso Ceri, in "Studi Etruschi", LII, 1984 (ed. 1986), pp. 13-59.  Pittura etrusca al Museo di Villa Giulia (Catalogo della Mostra, a cura di M.A.Rizzo), Roma 1989, pp. 19-25 (articolo di G.Colonna, Gli Etruschi e la "invenzione" della pittura) e pp. 103-124 (catalogo delle tombe dipinte di età orientalizzante).  A.Maggiani, Statue di Casale Marittimo, in Etruschi di Volterra: capolavori da grandi musei europei (Catalogo della Mostra. Volterra 2007), Milano 2007, pp. 102-105.  M. Menichetti, Il vino dei principes nel mondo etrusco-laziale. Note iconografiche, in "Ostraka", gennaio-giugno 2002, 1, pp. 75-99.  M.Menichetti, L'arrivo del mito, in M.Menichetti, Archeologia del potere, Milano 1994, pp. 44-89. I non frequentanti sono tenuti a preparare, oltre ai testi sopra indicati, anche M. Menichetti, Archeologia del potere, Milano 1994.

Second part: Po Valley Etruria 

AA.VV., Bologna etrusca: le origini e la formazione; Bologna etrusca, l'apogeo urbano e il primato culturale, in G. Sassatelli-A.Donati (a cura di), Storia di Bologna, 1, Bologna nell'antichità, Bologna 2005, pp. 119-338.  G. Sassatelli, Verucchio, centro etrusco di frontiera, in "Ocnus. Quaderni della Scuola di Specializzazione in Archeologia" 4, 1996, pp. 247-268.  G. Sassatelli, La funzione economica e produttiva: merci, scambi, artigianato, in Spina. Storia di una città tra Greci ed Etruschi (Catalogo della Mostra, Ferrara), Ferrara 1993, pp. 179-217.   E. Govi (a cura di), Marzabotto. Una città etrusca, Bologna 2007.  G. Sassatelli,Gli Etruschi nella Valle del Po. Riflessioni, problemi e prospettive di ricerca, in "Annali Faina" 15, 2008, pp. 71-114.    G. Sassatelli, Gli Etruschi della pianura padana, in G. Bartoloni (a cura di), Introduzione all'Etruscologia, Milano 2012, pp. 161-188. G.Sassatelli-E-Govi, Ideologia funeraria e celebrazione del defunto nelle stele etrusche di Bologna, in «Studi Etruschi» LXXIII, 2007 (2009), pp. 67-92.

Teaching methods

The teaching will include seminars. Students can also integrate lessons with practical activities such as workshop activities offered by the Archaeology Departments. It is also possible to join excavation activities in the Etruscan town of Marzabotto (Bologna).

Assessment methods

Final test consists of an oral examination only. The examination consists in three general questions that are the starting point of a more detailed discussion.

Teaching tools

During the lessons visual aids will be widely used, especially slides and power-point. Handouts concerning specific subjects of the course will be provided.

Office hours

See the website of Giuseppe Sassatelli

See the website of Chiara Pizzirani