Marsiliana

Borgo Marsiliana is an hamlet which belongs to the municipality of Manciano. The old town was once known as Caletra Etrusca, and was one of the main Etruscan city in the area. Compared to where the hamlet now arises, it was 1 kilometre to the south and was destroyed by a fire during middle VI century. Then, its territory was acquired by the city of Vulci. Several finds have been found out in this wide archaeological area, after a fortuitous find in 1908. The area was excavated by command of prince Tommaso Corsini and this led to the find of a necropolis
(dated back between the end of VIII and VI century B.C.). 109 graves have been discovered: they are grouped and surrounded by circles of stones.

A very important find was within the “circolo della fibula” (fibula circle, TN): here, a golden fibula engraved with granulation technique had been found out (Fibula Corsini, a masterpiece of Etruscan goldsmith’s art from VII century, treasured in the National Archaelogical Museum of Florence). Another very important find was within the “circolo degli avori” (ivories circle, TN), where a small board used for writing was found: the most ancient Etruscan alphabet is engraved on it (Tavoletta di Marsiliana, VII century B.C., treasured in the National Archaelogical
Museum of Florence). The hamlet as it is known today arose during the high-medieval period. During the XVIII century, a noble family of Florence, the Corsini, acquired the castle of the hamlet and decided to renew it at the end of 1800s. They transformed it in a farm, which is still their property. The two
main buildings in Marsiliana are the castle and its tower, which are raised and overlook the hamlet.