Etruscan settlement at the Forcello

The Forcello of Bagnolo San Vito was the main Po Valley Etruscan settlement in the 6th - 5th centuries B.C. known in Lombardy, as well as the most northern point of the Etruscan expansion to the north of the Po in the Archaic Age. The researches undertaken thus far, suggest that it was founded just after the middle of the 6th century B.C., while it came to an end around the beginnings of the 4th century B.C., probably not long after the Celtic invasion of the Po Plain (388 B.C.).

The location: an important, informed choice

The Forcello site is situated a few kilometres from the south west of Mantua, just next to a modest elongated mound (16.6 m above sea level), which spreads for roughly a kilometre N-NW S-SE, and is situated between the palaeoterrace of the Mincio to the west and the lowlands of the river valley to the east.
In light of this data, it appears that the Forcello site was on an island, or more probably, a peninsula, surrounded by the waters of the Mincio river – an ideal situation to take advantage of this important resource as a form of defence and also as a means of communication and trade contacts development.

The settlement which covered around 12 hectares, had been laid out over a triangular area, with the tip to the south east near the Berla court and the base to the north west towards Pietole Virgilio. The researches carried out in this area has shown that the mound on which it was situated was of mainly artificial origin, and that the artificial elevation was caused to a large extent by accumulation of anthropic layers produced by the construction and reconstruction of dwellings and the intentional dumping of rubbish in order to raise the settlement above flood danger level.

The location and the wealth of imported materials discovered at the Forcello characterise it as a commercial emporium of considerable importance for Etruscans, Greeks, and Alpine and Transalpine populations. It was a crucial concurrent meeting point for developing trade both from the ports of Spina and Adria on the Adriatic and the other centres of the Etruscans in the Po Valley, such as Bologna and Marzabotto, but it was also the starting point for the route which, passing through the Mincio valley, from Brescia and Bergamo, led finally to Como, the main centre of Golasecca culture during the V century B.C. The Golasecca population, in fact, held control of some of the most important Alpine passes, such as San Bernadino, and, favoured by their Celtic origin and their knowledge of the mountains, maintained contacts with the Celts on the other side of the Alps.

Tale of a discovery

The existence of an Etruscan town of such importance in the territory of Bagnolo San Vito was unknown for the whole of the 19th and part of the 20th centuries, there were a few occasional acknowledgements in the local archaeological publications, nevertheless, the site remained unknown to the scientific community.
The first information of the presence of archaeological materials in the Bagnolo San Vito countryside is due to the local scholars of the end of the nineteenth century; Portioli and Paglia, who recorded the surfacing of fragments of antique objects following the passage of the farmers’ ploughs and who limited themselves to noting the first discoveries.
The real discovery, however, is attributed to some passionate locals - Dino Zanoni of Mantova, Amilcare Riccò of Bagnolo San Vito and Gualberto Storti of Pietole who, during the ‘60s and ’70s, following ever deeper ploughing work, gathered a good number of materials on the surface and pointed out the presence of the site to the Soprintendenza Archeologica della Lombardia.
The first surveys and preliminary research started in 1980, leading to discoveries of such importance that it made the Soprintendenza office begin more systematic excavations. From 1981 to date, 18 excavation campaigns have been carried out under the direction of Raffaele C. de Marinis, formerly as the Lombard Archeological Commissioner, while from 1988 holding the professorship of Prehistory and Protohistory at the Università degli Studi of Milan. This research was assisted by the collaboration of the Civiche Raccolte Archeologiche di Milano (the Civic Archaeological Collection of Milan) from 1987 to 1993 (Patrizia Frontini) and by the Civico Museo Archeologico di Bergamo (the Civic Archaeological Museum of Bergamo) from 1990 to date (Stefania Casini). Between 1982 and 1993 the excavations were carried out with the participation of the Cooperativa Ricerche Archeologiche di Trento (CO.R.A.) (the Archaeological Research Co-operative of Trento).