The cliffs of Orvieto between the end of the Etruscan phase and the Gothic invasion

Abstract

The first part of the contribution is dedicated to a personal memory of Mario Torelli whom the author met and was able to follow at the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Perugia in the 1970’s; a remembrance of the great scientific personality of Mario, his ability to transmit knowledge and method, and the consistency of his teaching. The second part of the contribution aims to shed light on the situation of a presumed settlement on the cliff of Orvieto between 264 BC. and the Gothic invasion: a settlement that, in comparing historical data collected by G. M. Della Fina in his book “Orvieto Romana” (published in 1988) with archaeological discoveries made in the last thirty years, does not seem to have ever existed.