\f1 \fs22 On the right bank of the Fiora stream stood Vulci, one of the largest cities in southern Etruria. The cit
y reached the height of its power between the sixth and the first half of the fifth century BC, as is demonstrated by the immense cemeteries and the rich contents of the tombs. A period of crisis in economics and production was followed by a brilliant re
covery in the fourth century. The foundation of the colony of Cosa (273 BC) by the Romans on the territory of Vulci and the later war with \b \cf2 \ATXht8 Hannibal\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 were the cause of the city's progressive decline in the third and second
century BC. Vulci was an important center for the manufacture and distribution of bronze objects and there were also local schools of \b \cf4 \ATXht1117 potters\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 who imitated Corinthian, Ionic, and Attic vases and produced Etruscan vases
with red figures. Few remains of the city are still visible: sections of the walls, traces of two gates, a few buildings from the Roman era. It was in the Franτois tomb in Vulci that the famous paintings from the fourth century depicting scenes of the Et
ruscan conquest of Rome were found. Also worthy of note is the great burial mound of the <<Cuccumella,>> with its extremely complex set of underground rooms and corridors.\par
