Vetulonia
Vetulonia is a district of the municipality of Castiglione della Pescaia in southern Tuscany . It is located on a hill at a height of 344 m high above the valley of the Bruna about 20 km northwest of Grosseto and has about 500 inhabitants.
history
The place is of Etruscan origin and was called Vatluna . According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus , Vetulonia was in the 7th century BC. Chr. With the Latins against Rome allied. Silius Italicus reports on Vetulonia's conquest by the Romans, who used the coastal strip strategically and possibly took over some insignia ( lictors , fasces , toga ) from this city-state, which belongs to the Etruscan League of Twelve Cities . Also Pliny the Elder and Ptolemy mention Vetulonia.
The Etruscans had set up a flourishing port on the navigable large salt lake, which in antiquity spread across the plains of today's municipal area ( Lacus Prelius ). The trade in amber and goldsmith's work is documented. Via the lagoon there was a connection to the sea as well as to the second Etruscan metropolis of today's southern Tuscany, Roselle .
However, Vetulonia lost its importance as early as Roman times. There is no evidence that the Romans colonized the hill at all. The swamping of the Maremma that began in late antiquity , combined with the degeneration of the Etruscan canal system through the Lacus Prelius , cut off the historically grown trade routes. Malaria made large parts of the Maremma uninhabitable in the centuries to come.
Little is known about medieval Vetulonia due to a lack of sources. It was called Colonna di Buriano and was the bone of contention between the Abbey of San Bartolomeo di Sestinga and the feudal lords Lambardi di Buriano . The Etruscan prehistory was forgotten.
In 1323 the area fell to the Free City-State of Massa Marittima , which was conquered by the Republic of Siena 12 years later ; In the following, the place basically shared Siena's history: 1555 conquest by Florence , 1569 incorporation into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany , from 1737 Habsburg and from 1860 belonged to the Italian national state.
The doctor and hobby archaeologist Isidoro Falchi found the Etruscan ruins at the end of the 19th century and proved the identity of the lost Vetulonia in Colonna di Buriano. The ascription was initially contested by established archaeologists, but ultimately prevailed. In 1887 the town was given its ancient name back by a regional decree.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the Etruscan ruins are documented and frequented by groups, school classes and interested tourists. The remote location of the ruins, which can be reached with patience via a winding access road through extensive olive groves and an unpaved road, prevents the infrastructural unmanageable number of visitors.
Attractions
The Etruscan relics can be found in two zones:
- The ruins of the residential district and city wall ( Mura dell'Arce , so-called Cyclops Wall ) on the hill on the outskirts of today's medieval borgo as well
- the necropolis with mound graves (also called Tholos graves / tumuli) further below.
Etruscan city and wall
On the left (east) of the road that winds up from the north (Grilli) to Vetulonia, just before the entrance to the medieval Borgo , is the excavation field of Via Decumana (also called Via dei Ciclopi ). Only the foundation walls of the atrium houses discovered by Isidoro Falchi in 1893 are preserved . According to the floor plan, a narrow, hose-like entrance area, followed by an anteroom ( faucis ) and then the open main room (atrium) is to be closed.
Opposite (to the right of the street, to the west) there is an approx. 5 m long remnant of a city wall built from massive stone blocks, which Falchi discovered in 1895 and called the Cyclops Wall . It is unclear whether the massive structure was only used for defensive purposes or whether it was also intended to support the hill against landslides.
Necropolis
Among the burial sites from the 7th century BC further below the hill, which can be approached via a dirt road ( Via dei Sepolcri ), three complexes are documented:
The Tomba di Belvedere (discovered by Falchi in 1897) is a remnant of a square burial chamber; the presumably associated central column, vaulting and tumulus are no longer there, the dating uncertain.
The Tomba del Diavolino 2 ("Devil 2") is a large tumulus that is now covered by an olive grove. In 1903 Falchi found the central square burial chamber under the drum measuring 80 m in diameter, in formal association with a tholos , to which a 40 m long dromos (approx. 15 m roofed) leads. The vault was supported by a massive central pillar, of which only the base remains. Two restorations took place in 1960 and 1983. The complex got its name from a horned, diabolical figure found in the grave ( identified as Charon ).
In another, also overgrown tumulus with a 14 m high mound, 60 m diameter and 28 m long dromos ( Tomba della Pietrera ), Falchi discovered in 1892 two burial chambers (one round and one rectangular) one above the other around the completely preserved central central pillar. According to the prevailing opinion, this is explained by the collapse of the vault of the original chamber, followed by filling and reconstruction one floor above. During the excavation work, the lower floor was also exposed, so that the burial chamber looks like two-story today.
Another tumulus with a Charon grave find, the Tomba del Diavolino 1 ("Devil 1") was removed and is now in the Archaeological Museum in Florence .
A number of smaller stone circular graves with grave goods were also found in the vicinity of the tumuli.
Archaeological Museum
The Museo Archeologico Antiquarium , founded in 1978 , which was originally housed in a multi-purpose building together with the village school, a small library, a cinema and a first aid station, was redesigned and expanded as the Museo Archeologico Isidoro after 19 years of closure in June 2000 Falchi , reopened. It houses Etruscan grave finds from the 10th to the 1st century BC, including the stele of Avele Feluske , an important tomb from the late 7th century BC. Chr.
economy
Vetulonia is dominated by agriculture: olive and wine cultivation dominates, cattle breeding (sheep, pigs, chickens), which was still predominant in the 80s, has largely been abandoned. Until the 1970s, mining also provided jobs in the pyrite mines of Ravi and Gavorrano . Tourism still plays a subordinate role; Interested day-trippers come by, but there is a lack of dining facilities and accommodation.
Local festivities
- Sunday after February 10th: Festa di San Guglielmo ( patron saint of William of Malavalle ); A characteristic pastry of the region, the cialda , is served ;
- July / August: Sagra del Tortello e della cucina locale - kind of farmers market with local products
- Last weekend in August: Palla tournament eh! (see below)
- September: Palio delle Contrade - La corsa dei ciuchi , donkey race of the four local districts ( contrade ): Borgo, Torre, San Guglielmo and Colonna.
- Second Sunday in November: Festa dell'olio ("Festival of Olive Oil") with the opportunity to taste and exhibit historical oil presses (there are still 11 in Vetulonia).
Sports
Palla , which is widespread throughout the province of Grosseto, plays a major role eh! , also called Palla 21 (German "Ball 21"), a team game that goes back to ancient roots; some southern Tuscans see it as a forerunner of modern tennis. Alessandro Tosi is considered an undefeated local hero.
The place also has a soccer team, Etrusca Vetulonia.
literature
- Klaus Zimmermann: Toscana, Dumont art travel guide , 5th edition Cologne 2004, p. 398 ff., With further references
- Isidoro Falchi. Un medico al servizio dell'archeologia / un protagonista della ricerca italiana di fine Ottocento. Palazzo Pretoria 14 maggio - 15 ottobre 1995. Ministero Beni Culturali ed Ambientali, Soprintendenza ai Beni Archeologici della Toscana, Provincia di Livorno, Comune di Campiglia Marittima (Campiglia Marittima 1995).
- Alessandro Carresi, Roberto Botti: Vetulonia. Appunti di storia di una città etrusca. Paleani, Rome 1985.
Movie
- The message of the 12th Etruscan city. Documentary, Germany, 2009, 43:32 min., Written and directed by Andreas Sawall, first broadcast: April 4, 2010, production: Spiegel TV , ZDF , series: ZDF Expedition , online video from ZDF and synopsis by arte .
Web links
Coordinates: 42 ° 51 ′ 34 ″ N , 10 ° 58 ′ 16 ″ E