The exhibition “Etruscan Spina and the city of Milan” is being held as part of the national celebrations of the centenary of the beginning of the first excavations in Spina, in 1922. That effort brought to light thousands of tombs in the necropolises of Valle Trebba (1922-1935) and the close Valle Pega (1953-1962), in the area of Comacchio (Province of Ferrara). Spina, a major trading hub around the Po River delta, was founded by the Etruscans around 540 BC. It played a dominant role in trade on the Adriatic Sea, long serving as the gateway to the Mediterranean area for the entire Etruscan-Po Valley area. Ceramics and other valuable materials reached Spina and were distributed through inland waterways to towns such as Mantua, Marzabotto and Bologna (Felsina). The presence in the Greek sanctuary of Delphi of a thesauròs, a small building offered by “the people of Spina, on the Adriatic Sea”, testifies the impressive wealth of the city and its prominent role in trade routes.
Texts by Giuseppe Sassatelli, Paola Desantis and cards of the attic vases edited by Federica Giacobello.