75768 - Italic Etruscology and Archaeology (LM)

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 24, 2018; The second module starts on October 29, 2018. 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: Architectural Terracottas in archaic and classic period in Etruria

Aristocratic palaces and the decorative system. Case studies of Murlo, Acquarossa and others palaces. The I case terracottas system: characters, diffusion and themes. Examples of this architectural typology from Etruria and Lazio. The birth of monumental temple architecture during the 6th century and the monumentalization of urban sacred areas. The temple as an architectural category: the Tuscanic temple and the peripteral temples. Decorating systems for sacred buildings: the II case terracottas system. Great architectural and figurative projects: ideology, religion and propaganda. The relationship between the sacred structures and the city and its territory: urban, suburban, extraurban and country sanctuaries. The political dimension of the sanctuaries. The themes will be analyzed by taking into account specific cases and all the temples of Etruria and parts of Lazio will be examined in detail.

Second Module: The Po Valley Etruria

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.

Readings/Bibliography

All the bibliography is available in the library of Archaeology (San Giovanni in Monte 2)

Primo modulo: Architectural Terracottas in archaic and classic period in Etruria

- G. Colonna (a cura di), Santuari d'Etruria (Catalogo della Mostra, Arezzo 1985), Milano 1985;

- E. Govi (a cura di), La città etrusca e il sacro. Santuari e istituzioni politiche, Bologna 2017, pp. 1-24; 51-74; 75-96; 121-144; 145-180; 319-344.

- Two articles, of choice, among the following (students not attending classes four articles, of choice):

M. Torelli, Fictilia tecta. Riflessioni storiche sull'arcaismoetrusco e romano, in Deliciae Fictiles IV, Oxford 2011, pp. 3-15; P. Lulof, The late archaic miracle. Roof decoration in central Italy between 510 and 450 a.C., in Deliciae Fictiles IV, Oxford 2011, pp. 23-31; C. Carlucci, Il repertorio figurativo del ciclo acroteriale del tempio dell'Apollo a Veio-Portonaccio, in Deliciae Fictiles IV, Oxford 2011, pp. 115-127; Gli Etruschi e il Mediterraneo: la città di Cerveteri(Catalogo della mostra), Parigi 2013, Capitolo "Cerveteri arcaica" (pp. 142-265); G.Colonna, Note preliminari sui culti del Santuario di Portonaccio a Veio, in “Scienze dell'Antichità' I, 1987, pp.419-446; G.Colonna, Il santuario di Pyrgi dalle origini mitistoriche agli altorilievi frontonali dei Sette e di Leucotea, in “Scienze dell'Antichità' 10, 2000, pp.251-336;

Secondo modulo: 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.

- 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: G. Sassatelli, Gli Etruschi della pianura padana, in G. Bartoloni (a cura di), Introduzione all'Etruscologia, Milano 2012, pp. 161-188; the contributions 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.

Students without the preliminary skills to deal with lesson-related topics can fill gaps by reading one of the following manuals:

- G. Bartoloni (a cura di), Introduzione all'Etruscologia, Roma 2012.

- G. Camporeale, Gli Etruschi. Storia e civiltà, Novara, UTET, 2015.

- Gli Etruschi. Una nuova immagine (a cura di M. Cristofani), Firenze 1972 (o ristampe successive).

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).

Assessment methods

The evaluation 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.

Teaching tools

During the lessons professor will use visual media, especially power point that the student can download at the end of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Elisabetta Govi