Testo italiano dell'abstract...

The intervention aims to focus on the importance of Vallet’s book Rhégion et Zancle, a work written in the fifties of the last century, discussed as a Doctorate in 1956 and published in 1958. Beyond the specific study on the state of knowledge on cities of the Strait of Messina, then somewhat forgotten after the 1908 earthquake and Orsi’s commitment, the book is a first attempt to tackle the study of the Mediterranean space by tackling issues then under debate such as the so-called “pre-colonisation”. Today, in light of the progress of knowledge, it remains a great method lesson despite certain changes in our vision on the role of the Strait. The importance of ceramics for reading economic history is questioned, a fixed point even if the concept of “commerce” must today be placed in a broader perspective. It retraces the path opened by this book and is today a growth factor.

Testo italiano dell'abstract...

A previous study by the writer, prompted by some brief annotations by Georges Vallet, had identified the necessity to reconsider some aspects of the current view of the structure of the territory (chora) of the Greek city. Most importantly, the notion of a borderline and marginal territorial strip (the so-called eschatia), which was undivided and uncultivated, was unsatisfactory. The focus on eschatia remained a topic of interest in subsequent years, and was complemented by a similar focus on phelleus. This essay aims to clarify established points and interpretations, particularly with regard to the epigraphic record, which is now better known. It seeks to delineate what is currently perceived as a multifaceted and intricate Attic territorial and agrarian landscape, wherein plots of land classified as eschatia and/or phelleus are not peripheral to the polis’ territory, but rather constitute an integral component of it, both in terms of spatial organization and economic function.

Testo italiano dell'abstract...

The paper examines the archaeological documentation relating to sector of Poseidonia located between urban space (asty), divided and inhabited, and the chora understood essentially - but not exclusively - as an agricultural space between the 6th and early 3rd centuries BC. The updated examination of the data is aimed at defining the limits and characteristics of this space which in its relationship with the asty is marked by the presence of a series of small places of worship existing since the first half of the 6th century BC when the urban form, subsequently circumscribed by the city walls, was different from the one we know in the late Archaic and Classical ages.

Testo italiano dell'abstract...

Georges Vallet contributed to a major change in the study of the ancient Greek city and insisted on the need to analyze the city together with its territory. After his major lesson, methods and techniques have been developed, including above all surveys, now also with remote sensing techniques of the LiDAR type, which have changed the ways of studying the territory. In this assessment of the study of the chora, in the wake of Vallet’s lesson, I propose a brief bibliographic review of half a century of historical-archaeological publications on the study of the Greek colonial city’s territory.

Testo italiano dell'abstract...

The paper addresses the problems of the chora of Taranto, through an analysis of the approach of the studies known so far, which are not very systematic and very fragmentary. Some aspects of the settlement patterns in the territory of the Greek colony are examined, emphasising, in specific cases, the different readings formulated on the basis of the available data, in order to interpret the modes of contact and interaction between settlers and the local population (Iapigi) at the time of the Laconic ktisis. Bearing in mind recent acquisitions, the complex settlement dynamics of the 5th century B.C. were synthesised in relation to the socio-political events that affected the polisp and the conflictual relations with the neighbouring indigenous populations (Peuceti and Messapi). Finally, on the basis of the investigations conducted by the Soprintendenza in recent decades, an attempt has been made to outline, by broad periods, the development of the Taranto chora, the variability of the territorial limits and the coexistence in border areas of cultural manifestations pertaining not only to Taranto, but also to the colony of Metapontum.

Testo italiano dell'abstract...

The phenomenon of land subdivision in the apoikiai represents a relevant theme in the history of research on the Greek city, to which Georges Vallet devoted great interest in his studies on colonization in general and on Megara Hyblaea in particular. This contribution draws inspiration from the re-reading of some of Vallet’s articles, highlighting their continued relevance today due to the numerous insights they provide. Studies and research in recent decades have introduced new elements, especially thanks to archaeological investigations conducted in settlements, while the configuration of the chora systems remains elusive. This topic is crucial to understanding and interpreting the structures of the polis, which, as G. Vallet repeatedly emphasized, materialized through the integrated and organic division of both urban and rural spaces. Starting from these premises, I intend to address, through some case studies, the problem of the relationship, possible or presumed, between oikopeda and kleroi.

Testo italiano dell'abstract...

Between the Heraion and the sanctuary of Fonte, we can see the signs of a complex system of organisation of spaces and occupation of the lands that finds in the sacred the dominant element. Starting from the beginning of the 4th century BC, it is perceived a different articulation of the territory, which reflect the existing relationships within the people of the city. Along the route to the Heraion, which continues to be the most considerable sacred emergency, the territory is dotted with evidence of different quantities and types, attributable to more articulated settlements, as in the case of Gaudo and Capaccio Scalo, and to single-family farms. In the rest of the territory, the signs of strong mobility are clearly evident with the penetration of allogeneic groups coming from the high Calore.
The sanctuary of Fonte went from being a place of contact between different ethne to becoming the centre towards which settlements of different sizes converged, from small villages distributed mainly on the heights, to farms. Within a radius of two-three kilometres from the sanctuary of S. Nicola in Albanella, instead a real village seems to be structured, which aggregates around the sacred area, near which are concentrated the painted tombs, attributable to the emerging groups, who between the middle and the end of the 4th century BC adopted and reworked the pictorial traditions and iconographic schemes of the necropolis areas closest to the Lucanian city.

Testo italiano dell'abstract...

The territory of the Greek colony of Metaponto, between the Bradano and Cavone rivers, preserves traces of extensive agricultural intervention, in the form of long, parallel lines descending from the hinterland towards the coast. These lines can be identified on the soil by their straight path, interrupted by gaps and deep depressions. Such anomalies, recognized mainly from old aerial photographs, show a darker colour, are generally equidistant from each other, and were interpreted as axes of the ancient agricultural division, drainage or irrigation canals, and roads. The orientation of the lines differs in the two areas defined by the rivers. The southern lines, between the Basento and Cavone, show a greater inclination to the NW: this suggested that the two systems were created at different times, almost following the dynamics of the progressive land occupation. Recent excavations have documented that the lines define an extensive hydraulic reclamation system, created on the basis of a large unitary project during the second half of the 6th century BC, which was subsequently implemented and modified for specific local purposes. On the ground the anomalies correspond to the path of canals, often flanked by roads and sectors of the necropolis clearly reserved for residents of the countryside.

Testo italiano dell'abstract...

The territory of the Siritide, between the Archaic and Classical periods, has been host of a complex settlement story. The dossier of data concerning each of the phases of the history of this region is articulated and not without interpretative knots. To a multi-layered ’colonial’ tradition recorded in ancient literary sources, a composite archaeological framework has been added over the years, which is rich in implications for our knowledge of the cross-cultural dynamics and settlement strategies implemented in this sector of the Gulf of Taranto. In this panorama, despite the prevailing attention devoted to a few key settlements, systematic investigations and occasional finds made at several other sites in the coastal and para-coastal strip of the Siritide have contributed to compose an articulated framework of knowledge about the peopling pattern of this landscape in the different periods. Here more than elsewhere, therefore, the territory represents a particularly important observatory for the analysis of the political structures, socio-economic systems and cultural phenomena of a Western Greek polis.