IPOTESI SUL PORTO ETRUSCO DI ALSIUM TRA RECENTI ACQUISIZIONI E PROSPETTIVE FUTURE*

Abstract

The landing place of the Etruscan site of Alsium is not as well-known as the most important of Caere’s harbors,
Pyrgi, and its supposed location has fluctuated between the promontory of Palo, where the Roman colonia
maritima is located, and the site of the famous so-called “Villa of Pompey”, about 2 km further south.
Nowadays the second hypothesis seems to be the most likely. Its geographical position, dominating the
alluvial plain of the Tiber, its proximity to the mouth of the Cupino stream, the placement of important
necropolises such as S. Paolo and Monteroni along the route from Caere to Alsium, as well as the discovery
and rediscovery of a number of interesting contexts are just some of the main indications in favour of this
“petite acropole”. However, there is still no archaeological proof of this theory and currently it is only possible
to outline a few preliminary considerations about the role played by Alsium, from the Orientalizing
period onwards, in contacts with Mediterranean trade routes and, through to the Cupino valley, with the
territorial sections overlooking Bracciano Lake and the Tiber valley.