The ruins of Roselle
The ruins of Roselle (the Etruscans apparently called it Russel,
in Roman times it became Rusellae and then Roselle from the Middle Ages onwards)
are situated 10 kilometres away from Grosseto on the road for Siena. From its
high position (150 metres above sea level) above the plain of Grosseto, Roselle
dominated the lake of Prile (which gradually became marshland and was eventually
drained), and thus access to the sea. It flourished from 7 B.C. through to 3
B.C. Roselle was one of the most important cities in Etruscan Maremma. The excavations
are those that, for the moment at least, give us the best idea of the way the
Etruscans lived, how the city was run, their everyday life and stimulate our
imagination the most. We should in fact remember that little evident visual
documentation has survived of their monuments, temples, houses, bridges and
roads or towers, compared with those of Roman times or the Middle Ages. Unfortunately,
apart from the splendid archeological finds that can be admired in various museums
(jewellery, pottery, weapons and utensils), almost all discovered in the tombs,
the only documentation we have of this people - apart from information provided
by the historians of antiquity, who were mostly Roman - is composed of the ruins
of their cities and necropoli. However the excavations carried out so far, or
those under way, make it possible, by combining a little imagination with the
opinions of eminent Etruscan experts, scholars and researchers, to enjoy a fascinating
tour of the city.
Roselle
today Vetulonia was another important Etruscan city that stood only about twenty
kilometres away from Roselle and overlooked the same coastal bay. Some historians
believe that Roselle was at first a dependent city of Vetulonia and that in
the end, after its great development, it was to destroy it. The Etruscans as
a people did not feel loyalty to the State or national unity (and this is typical
of much of the history of Italy and even, perhaps, of humanity). The excavations
carried out so far show us that this was a busy and wealthy city. Roselle developed
a thriving and famous fishing industry thanks to its position near the lake
of Prile. All Etruscan cities were surrounded by high walls built with huge
blocks of stone, which were almost always polygonal in shape and often placed
one on top of the other without the use of mortar. Roselle was constructed in
the same way and surrounded by powerful walls, large stretches of which can
still be seen today, built with enormous stones that came from a quarry within
the city; it is thought that the residual space from this quarry was probably
put to rational use later. The Etruscans were in fact a very rational minded
people, which can be seen from their ability as metal working contractors and
as "plumbers" or expert controllers of water. The streets within the walls were
fairly wide, the houses were roofed over with tiles, usually baked in the sun,
and there was an organised system for collecting rainwater that was piped into
wells or cisterns. The houses were usually built on a rectangular plan and composed
of several brightly painted rooms furnished with beds, claw-legged tables, candleholders,
chairs and stools, decorative textiles, a large number of cushions, three-footed
holders for braziers and perfume burners, pottery and terracotta or metal containers.
Etruscan houses were built around an internal atrium that gave light and air
to the rooms and often had a portico as well. The houses were hut-shaped only
in the earlier archaic age. Agriculture and trade were the most important economic
activities in Roselle. As a rule land ownership of land was hereditary (or else
as a result of conquest). Farming therefore created a landowning aristocracy
who held the power; the people who held the most important civic, political
or religious positions in the city-state were almost always selected from this
elite. However the highest power in the early Etruria was concentrated in the
hands of a king called the lucumone; from the sixth century B.C., this supreme
authority was gradually forced to cede the reigns of government to the great
families of the aristocracy. Probably some of the inhabitants of the city had
no political rights at all while the conquered pre-Etruscan population (thought
to be composed of Italic Umbrians) counted even less. All these people were
forced to accept a form of political subjection that was exercised by the parties
of the noble families. In around the 8th century B.C., while almost everywhere
else in Italy people were still living in villages created in natural caves,
huts or rudimentary houses, the Etruscans were already founding their first
cities in central Italy. There were several hundred of these at least. Some
historians think that there were as many as 350 important inhabited settlements
though this did not lead to the abandon of the countryside or agricultural activity.
Roselle
today Roselle was a powerful "City-state". Apart from what historians tell us,
this is fairly obvious from its imposing road system, squares, temples, public
palaces and houses whose ruins have survived in a very good state to this day.
The Etruscans' preference for a "city-state" rather than a "nation" - a concept
that instead characterised the Romans - was to be their strength and at the
same time their weakness. When we talk about a "city" today, we are thinking
of an urban agglomeration linked to others that, grouped together, form the
State. Instead, the Etruscan city, with its surrounding territories, was understood
as a community whose religion, laws, institutions, economy and social classes
contained fundamental and self-sufficient elements which were not necessarily
linked to those of other communities. Some scholars define the organisation
of the Etruscan community as follows: "The Etruscan city-state was a political
and religious centre that functioned according to the legal and economic position
of its members." If on one hand this strengthened and emphasised the internal
rules regarding the city community and its territory, it did absolutely nothing
for the people or the nation (if we can call it that). The Romans took advantage
of the Etruscans' incapacity to feel part of a nation and gradually, city after
city, subdued the whole of Etruria. However, even though Etruria could not be
considered a federalist state as we understand it today, all the Etruscan city-states
were linked together in groups of twelve, the so-called "League of the dodecapoli",
which were more of a religious than political character. The oldest league was
based in maritime Etruria and included the cities of Roselle, Vetulonia, Populonia,
Cere, Tarquinia, Vulci, Volsinii, Chiusi, Volterra, Cortona, Perugia and Veio.
The Romans conquered Roselle in the 3rd century B.C. (apparently in 294).
Translated by Susan Glasspool
