\f1 \fs22 After much uncertainty, the site of the ancient city of Vetulonia was identified at the local
ity of Poggio Colonna in the Grosseto area, where the remains of city walls and of dwellings were found. The earliest settlement dates back to the \b \cf4 \ATXht52 Villanova era\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 (ninth-eighth century BC), while the city's period of great
est political and economic development was in the seventh and early part of the sixth century. Later the city went into sudden and total decline. The prosperity attained by Vetulonia in the seventh century, as testified by the rich collection of objects
found in the tombs, was certainly linked to the exploitation of deposits of metal ore (lead, copper, and silver) at nearby Massa Marittima. In fact there was a flourishing local \b \cf4 \ATXht1012 bronze manufacturing\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 industry. An import
ant feature of the extensive \b \cf1 \ATXht14 necropolis\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 is the <<Tumulus of Pietrera>> (seventh century BC) where the first examples of Etruscan stone statues carved in full relief were found.\par
