Padanian Etruria
Encyclopedia
In the 6th century BC the Etruscans expanded their power to Northern and Southern Italy, specifically towards Emilia and Campania, there they founded Etruscan dominions who are modernly known under the names of Padanian Etruria and Campanian Etruria. Moving from the northern city-state
s of the Tuscanian Dodecapolis they swept into the Po valley
through the Apennine passes.
region, and northwards into the Po Valley occurred yet in the 9th century BC.
Following their usual methods, the Etruscan conquerors in the colonial areas overlapped themselves over the ancient inhabitants of the conquered regions imposing their culture and their political institutions. Consequently , as in Tuscany, the cities they founded in the Po valley and along the Adriatic coast formed a Dodecapolis (a federation or league of twelve cities), but, as for the original Tuscanian Dodecapolis, we do not really know which cities were part of it. Inside Padanian Etruria, it is supposed they were ‘’Felsina’’ (Bologna
), Spina
and Marzabotto
, while we can only guess about Ravenna
, Cesena
, Rimini
, Modena
, Parma
, Piacenza
, Mantua
and possibly, but improbably, Milan
.
The founder of these cities and of their League had been Ocnus
, brother or son of Aulestes (or Auletes
), according some authors, Tarchon
according others. More probably, as the archaeological evidence suggests, both the traditions have to be accepted but must also be ascribed to two different moments of profound change in the political and economic framework of the Padanian Etruria.
A "First etruscan colonization," referred to the legendary Tarchon, can be traced to the early Iron Age
(9th century BC). It was aimed to find new lands for agricultural uses; a "Second colonization", dated to the mid-6th century BC, can be attributed to the as much legendary Ocnus. The latter colonization involved the reorganization of the entire Padanian region in order to increase its utility for the etruscan businesses and trades.
During the 6th century BC Etruria experienced significant social, political and economic transformations. The formative process of the city-states had concluded, within these polities the power of the great aristocratic families was matched and then replaced by that of a new social class of men whose wealth was based mainly on trade.
The protagonists of this process were people of the northern cities of Tuscany
. The Padanian Etruria is transformed in best way to serve the new commercial purposes: the trade routes are reinforced and developed, the previous settlements became real cities, better linked amongst them by a closer collaborative relationship, developing in an effective etruscan Dodecapolis.
, the main city of Padanian Etruria, and Verucchio, then flourishing settlement in the heart of Romagna, by initiative of the etruscan colonists.
was an Etruscan
port city on the Adriatic
at the ancient mouth of the Po
, south of the lagoon which would become the site of Venice
. Spina may have had a Hellenised
indigenous population.
(9-8th century BC), who probably was at the origin of the Etruscans. The roman epithet Princeps Etrurie ("the main city of Etruria") who was given to the emilian Felsina illustrates the crucial importance of the Padanian Etruria for the whole of the Etrurian Leagues from the late 6th century BC.
With the descent of the Gauls
over the Italian peninsula, between the 5th and 4th century BC, the Etruscans progressively became a minority in both the cities and in the rural areas of Padanian Etruria. The last manifestations of their civilization ended permanently with the Romanization of the Po Valley during the 2nd century BC.
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
s of the Tuscanian Dodecapolis they swept into the Po valley
Po Valley
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain is a major geographical feature of Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of 46,000 km² including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po River basin; it runs from the Western Alps to the...
through the Apennine passes.
History
The Greek and Latin ancient writers tell us that an Etruscan expansion into Southern Italy, present day CampaniaCampania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
region, and northwards into the Po Valley occurred yet in the 9th century BC.
Following their usual methods, the Etruscan conquerors in the colonial areas overlapped themselves over the ancient inhabitants of the conquered regions imposing their culture and their political institutions. Consequently , as in Tuscany, the cities they founded in the Po valley and along the Adriatic coast formed a Dodecapolis (a federation or league of twelve cities), but, as for the original Tuscanian Dodecapolis, we do not really know which cities were part of it. Inside Padanian Etruria, it is supposed they were ‘’Felsina’’ (Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
), Spina
Spina
Spina was an Etruscan port city, established by the end of the 6th c. BCE, on the Adriatic at the ancient mouth of the Po, south of the lagoon which would become the site of Venice...
and Marzabotto
Marzabotto
Marzabotto is a small town and comune in Italian region Emilia-Romagna, part of the province of Bologna. It is located 27 km SSW of Bologna by rail, and lies in the valley of the Reno...
, while we can only guess about Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
, Cesena
Cesena
Cesena is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, south of Ravenna and west of Rimini, on the Savio River, co-chief of the Province of Forlì-Cesena. It is at the foot of the Apennines, and about 15 km from the Adriatic Sea.-History:Cesena was originally an Umbrian...
, Rimini
Rimini
Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...
, Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
, Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
, Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
, Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
and possibly, but improbably, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
.
The founder of these cities and of their League had been Ocnus
Ocnus
In Greek and Roman mythology, Ocnus or Bianor was a son of Manto and Tiberinus. He founded Mantua . Alternatively, he was the son or brother of Auletes and founded Felsina or Perusia or Cesena....
, brother or son of Aulestes (or Auletes
Auletes
In some accounts, Auletes, , was the father or brother of Ocnus, founder of Felsina....
), according some authors, Tarchon
Tarchon
In Etruscan mythology, Tarchon and his brother, Tyrrhenus, were culture heroes who founded the Etruscan Federation of twelve cities, the Dodecapoli. One author, Joannes Laurentius Lydus, distinguishes two legendary persons named Tarchon, the Younger and his father, the Elder...
according others. More probably, as the archaeological evidence suggests, both the traditions have to be accepted but must also be ascribed to two different moments of profound change in the political and economic framework of the Padanian Etruria.
A "First etruscan colonization," referred to the legendary Tarchon, can be traced to the early Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
(9th century BC). It was aimed to find new lands for agricultural uses; a "Second colonization", dated to the mid-6th century BC, can be attributed to the as much legendary Ocnus. The latter colonization involved the reorganization of the entire Padanian region in order to increase its utility for the etruscan businesses and trades.
During the 6th century BC Etruria experienced significant social, political and economic transformations. The formative process of the city-states had concluded, within these polities the power of the great aristocratic families was matched and then replaced by that of a new social class of men whose wealth was based mainly on trade.
The protagonists of this process were people of the northern cities of Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
. The Padanian Etruria is transformed in best way to serve the new commercial purposes: the trade routes are reinforced and developed, the previous settlements became real cities, better linked amongst them by a closer collaborative relationship, developing in an effective etruscan Dodecapolis.
The cities of Padanian Etruria
From the late 9th century BC, the humam settlement in the Lower Po valley, previously organized in small groups of huts scattered throughout the country and mostly inhabited by Umbrians or other Italics, centers in some major urban areas as BolognaBologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, the main city of Padanian Etruria, and Verucchio, then flourishing settlement in the heart of Romagna, by initiative of the etruscan colonists.
Spina
SpinaSpina
Spina was an Etruscan port city, established by the end of the 6th c. BCE, on the Adriatic at the ancient mouth of the Po, south of the lagoon which would become the site of Venice...
was an Etruscan
Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...
port city on the Adriatic
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
at the ancient mouth of the Po
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
, south of the lagoon which would become the site of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. Spina may have had a Hellenised
Hellenization
Hellenization is a term used to describe the spread of ancient Greek culture, and, to a lesser extent, language. It is mainly used to describe the spread of Hellenistic civilization during the Hellenistic period following the campaigns of Alexander the Great of Macedon...
indigenous population.
Conclusion
The Po Valley had been always crucial to the Etruscan civilization, as it also witnessed the rise of Villanovan cultureVillanovan culture
The Villanovan culture was the earliest Iron Age culture of central and northern Italy, abruptly following the Bronze Age Terramare culture and giving way in the 7th century BC to an increasingly orientalizing culture influenced by Greek traders, which was followed without a severe break by the...
(9-8th century BC), who probably was at the origin of the Etruscans. The roman epithet Princeps Etrurie ("the main city of Etruria") who was given to the emilian Felsina illustrates the crucial importance of the Padanian Etruria for the whole of the Etrurian Leagues from the late 6th century BC.
With the descent of the Gauls
Gauls
The Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
over the Italian peninsula, between the 5th and 4th century BC, the Etruscans progressively became a minority in both the cities and in the rural areas of Padanian Etruria. The last manifestations of their civilization ended permanently with the Romanization of the Po Valley during the 2nd century BC.