- Docente: Elisabetta Govi
- Credits: 6
- SSD: L-ANT/06
- Language: Italian
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Bologna
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Corso:
Second cycle degree programme (LM) in
History and Oriental Studies (cod. 8845)
Also valid for Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Archaeology and Cultures of the Ancient World (cod. 8855)
Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Philology, Literature and Classical Tradition (cod. 9070)
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from Sep 16, 2024 to Oct 23, 2024
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course the student knows in depth the various fields of Etruscan civilization and of the pre-Roman Italian world; knows how to use the critical tools for a correct reading of archaeological documentation integrating it with historical and epigraphic documentation; is able to know in depth the territory, also through visits to the main museums and archaeological areas of the region, which enable him to acquire a complete and conscious approach to the discipline.
Course contents
The course is divided into two 30-hour modules each. Students who have only the 6 cfu course in the curriculum, can freely choose between the two modules. The first module starts on September 16, 2024; The second module starts on November 11, 2024. The course takes place on Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday from 1 pm to 3 pm.
During the starting lessons, Professor will give advice on the studying, will explain the exam carrying out and will give the outlines of the basic elements of the discipline, in order to fill in possible gaps in students' knowledge.
First module: Funeral ritual between religion and identity features of Etruscan society
Necropolises are the best-known aspect of Etruscan civilization throughout its duration. The cult of the dead and funerary practices represent a valuable area of investigation for reconstructing the social and political structure, religion and identity traits of Etruscan society. The course aims to analyze funerary evidence diachronically, from the formative phase to the Romanization of Etruria, and thus it will be possible to retrace the stages of the evolution of Etruscan civilization through the specific funerary perspective. A theoretical approach to the topic will introduce the study of the necropolis, as an organized landscape in which the community enacts strategies of self-representation and the construction of a collective memory. The most current avenues of investigation that archaeology, with the help of other disciplines, manages to develop on the topic will be discussed with the aim of fixing the tools and methodological aspects of the analysis. Consideration will be given for each historical phase (Formative (9th-8th cent. B.C.); Orientalizing (late 8th-early 6th cent.); Archaic (6th-5th cent.); Classical (5th-4th cent.); Hellenistic (4th-2nd cent.)) to tomb structures and decorative apparatus, traces of ritual actions performed on the tomb, the logic of composition of grave goods and selection of objects accompanying the dead, and craft and production activities related to burial. The analysis will explore the relationship between the society of the living and the community of the dead, the forms of social expression and the construction of a group and collective identity, the features of the cult of the dead and the ideology of the Afterlife in the Etruscan world. Comparison among the major centers of Etruria will bring out, within a shared language, specific choices that characterize local traditions.
Second Module: The Etruscans in The Po Valley
The birth of the Etruscan centers of Bologna and Verucchio and the territorial development during the Villanova and Orientalizing phases. The gentle power between funeral practices and stone sculpture. The restructuring of the whole area of Padana during the 6th century. The foundation of new urban centers such as Marzabotto, Spina, Bagnolo San Vito (Mantua) and other smaller centers. The commercial and productive system of Etruria Padana and the complex network of relations with Tyrrhenian Etruria, with the Adriatic and with the Greek world and with Northern Italy and the transalpine world. The urbanization of the Etruscan-Padan centers. The funeral ideology between VI and IV sec. B.C. through the analysis of the necropolis of Bologna, Marzabotto, Spina and other smaller centers. The grave sculptures of Bologna as an expression of the civic community. The crisis generated by the fall of the Gauls and the end of the Etruscan settlements in the Po valley. Guided tours are available at the main museums and archaeological sites of the Region, whose dates will be announced at the beginning of the course.
Students interested in Pre-Roman Archaeology can attend also Italic and Celtic Archaeology (Prof. A. Gaucci) and Archaeology of Etruscan City (Prof. C. Pizzirani).
Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.
Readings/Bibliography
All the texts indicated are available in the Archeology library of the Department of History and Cultures.
First Module: Funeral ritual between religion and identity features of Etruscan society
Students without the preliminary skills to deal with lesson-related topics can fill gaps by reading the following manual: G. Bartoloni (a cura di), Introduzione all'Etruscologia, Roma 2012 or C. Riva, A Short History of the Etruscans, Bloomsbury, 2021.
To prepare the module, in addition to the lecture notes,
1) the contributions in the volume La ritualità funeraria tra età del Ferro e orientalizzante in Italia (Atti del Convegno, Verucchio 2002), Pisa-Roma 2006:
- F. Trucco, Considerazione sul rituale funerario in Etruria meridionale all’inizio dell’Età del Ferro alla luce delle nuove ricerche a Tarquinia, pp. 95-102;
- P. Von Eles, Il rituale funerario nel Villanoviano dell’Emilia Romagna: considerazioni alla luce di nuovi scavi e nuovi studi, pp. 67-78.
2) the essays in the volume Il viaggio oltre la vita. Gli Etruschi e l’Aldilà tra capolavori e realtà virtuale (Catalogo della mostra, Bologna 2014), Bononia University Press 2014, pp. 27-89:
-G. Colonna, L’Aldilà degli Etruschi: caratteri generali, pp. 27-35.
-L. Cerchiai, Il Dionisismo nell’immaginario funebre degli Etruschi, pp. 37-43.
-M. Bonamici, Il “viaggio” verso l’Aldilà, pp. 45-51.
-F. Roncalli, L’Aldilà: dall’idea al paesaggio, pp. 53-59.
-A. Maggiani, L’Aldilà etrusco in età ellenistica, pp. 61-69.
-C. Pizzirani, Il mare nell’immaginario funebre degli Etruschi, pp. 71-79.
M. Minoja, L’Aldilà nella produzione ceramica a figure nere degli Etruschi, pp. 81-89
Those students not attending classes must prepare also the essays in the volume Tra Etruria, Lazio e Magna Grecia: indagini sulle necropoli (Atti dell’Incontro di studio), Pandemos 2009:
-E. Govi, L’archeologia della morte a Bologna: spunti di riflessione e prospettive di ricerca, pp. 21-36;
-C. Pizzirani, Iconografia dionisiaca e contesti tombali tra Felsina e Spina, pp. 37-50;
-L. Tomay, Le necropoli di Fratte, pp. 143-168;
-R. Bonaudo, M.Cuozzo, E. Mugione, C.Pellegrino, A. Serritella, Le necropoli di Pontecagnano: studi recenti, pp. 169-208.
Second Module: The Etruscans in The Po Valley
1-G. Sassatelli, Gli Etruschi nella Valle del Po. Riflessioni, problemi e prospettive di ricerca, in "Annali Faina" 15, 2008, pp. 71-114.
2- G. Sassatelli, Verucchio, centro etrusco di frontiera, in "Ocnus. Quaderni della Scuola di Specializzazione in Archeologia" 4, 1996, pp. 247-268.
3- 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.
4- E. Govi (a cura di), Marzabotto. Una città etrusca, Bologna 2007.
5- E. Govi, Lo studio delle stele felsinee: approccio metodologico e analisi del linguaggio figurativo, in Annali per la Fondazione del Museo Claudio Faina, vol. XXI, 2014, pp. 127-186.
Those students not attending classes have to prepare also:
- Ravenna e l'Adriatico dalle origini all'età romana (a cura di F. Boschi), Bologna 2013, pp. 1-90;
- the papers of G. Sassatelli, E. Govi, G. Morpurgo in “Il viaggio oltre la vita. Gli Etruschi e l'Aldilà tra capolavori e realtà virtuale” (catalogo della mostra, Bologna 2014-2015), Bologna 2015, pp. 99-130.
Teaching methods
The course is organized with frontal lectures. The second module, dedicated to Etruria Padana, also includes visits to the main museums of the region (Archaeological Museum of Bologna, Museum and archaeological site of Marzabotto, National Museum of Ferrara).
Students interested will be able to integrate the course's teaching with practical laboratory within the training offers offered by the Department, with particular regard to the possibility of excavating experiences in the Etruscan city of Marzabotto (Bologna).
In consideration of the types of activities and teaching methods adopted, the attendance of the laboratory and the excavation activity requires the performance of all students of Modules 1 and 2 in e-learning mode and the participation in Module 3 of specific training on safety and health in the places of study. Information on dates and methods of attendance of Module 3 can be consulted in the specific section of the degree program website.
Assessment methods
The exam consists on an oral examination, during which the teacher is going to ask questions, related to those topics illustrated and debated at lectures and/or found in the bibliography.
The assessment of students is based on their ability to refer the acquired knowledge by using the field-specific terminology and by framing consistently a specific topic in its related period.
Those students who demonstrate to have a systematic perspective of topics covered during lectures and/or in the above-mentioned bibliography, mastering them critically, also by using field-specific terms, will be given a mark of excellence. A mnemonic knowledge of the subject with the ability to sinthetize/analize, with correct, although not always field-specific command of the language will be rewarded with a 'fair' mark. Those students who demonstrate minimal knowledge of the subject, showing gaps and/or inappropriate command of the specific language will be given a pass mark or just above the pass mark. Significant knowledge gaps, insufficient field-specific language, lack of those abilities to frame correctly the covered topics and to orientate themselves among the bibliographical materials will not be given a pass mark.
Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.
6 CFU course can be chosen as a part of the 12 CFU Integrated Course “Etruscology and Italic Archaeology (C.I.) (LM)".
Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.
Teaching tools
During the lessons professor will use visual media, especially power point that the student can download from virtuale.unibo.it.
Office hours
See the website of Elisabetta Govi
SDGs

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.