Misa
Misa was an Etruscan settlement located in the plain of the river Reno, approximately seventeen miles from Bologna. Established around 550 BC, it played a strategic role in trade, linking the region of Etruria with the Apennine pass. Initially founded as part of an expansion by northern Etruscan city-states, Misa flourished until it was overtaken by the Gallic tribe of the Boii in the fourth century BC, leading to its decline into a small village. Archaeological remains reveal a well-planned urban layout characterized by a main north-south street, drainage systems, and workshops for metal and ceramics. The settlement also featured a hillside area known as Misanello, which housed at least three temples constructed primarily from stone and wood, notable for their brightly painted tiled roofs. Although natural disasters and river alterations have impacted the site, the remnants of Misa offer valuable insights into Etruscan life and culture. Additionally, the presence of a Gaulish necropolis highlights the area's historical significance and the blending of cultures over time.
Subject Terms
Misa
(Marzabotto)
An Etruscan center in the plain of the river Renus (Reno), seventeen miles south-southwest of the regional capital Felsina (Bononia, Bologna), which it linked with the homeland of Etruria, controlling the Apennine pass and its trade. The town was probably founded not long after 550 BC as part of the northern expansion program of one or more of the city-states of northern Etruria, among which Volaterrae (Volterra) and Clusium (Chiusi) were the most prominent. However, Misa was occupied by the Gallic tribe of the Boii in the fourth century BC, and thereafter gradually declined into little more than a village.
Although the site was partly destroyed by a change of course of the river Renus and a landslide, its remaining traces provide an unusual, revealing picture of an Etruscan habitation center. After small-scale beginnings before 500, the following century witnessed the creation of a carefully oriented rectangular grid based on a wide central street (leading from north to south) flanked by drainage channels and fronted by metal and ceramics workshops. This main street was crossed at right angles by secondary roads, of which the northernmost led to a hillside terrace (Misanello). This terrace contained at least three temples constructed of stone in their lower parts and wood and unbaked bricks above, and surmounted by roofs of brightly painted tiles. The principal cemeteries were subsequently supplemented by a Gaulish necropolis.