The Etruscan and then Roman city is located on a hill about 150 m above the plain of Grosseto: once the city overlooking Lake Prile, the ancient seaway that occupied the plain of Grosseto, the lake in later times becoming first a swamp and was later (in late '700) cleared. Roselle is one of the best preserved Roman-Etruscan city in Tuscany, the city was part of Etruscan dodecapolis, and was only finally abandoned in 1138 when the bishop's seat was moved to Grosseto.

Founded in the seventh century BC, Roselle was a coastal city on the ancient lake Prile, important for fishing and trade with the Etruscan cities of the interior. Roselle developed mainly since the sixth century BC, its development was probably at the expense of neighboring lucumonie particularly Vetulonia, until then the most important Etruscan town of the Maremma, situated on the hills behind the opposite shore of Lake Prile. In 294 BC was conquered by Rome at the hands of the consul L. Postumius Megello. During the Roman rule the city was enlarged and embellished with spa, villas and an amphitheater among the best preserved of the area. Under the Empire Roselle became a Roman municipality (after 89 BC) and then a Roman colony. In this period were built the most important monuments such as the Forum and the Basilica, a system of collection of rainwater and a thermal building.

Before arriving at the parking of the archaeological area, along the access road, are visible the remains of a small Etruscan necropolis with some tombs. Entered the enclosure of the archaeological site should continue uphill along the main road leading to the city, this is a fine stretch of paved Roman road that leads to the area of the Forum along the road is an ancient Roman basin.

At the end of the road on the left side are the walls that surround the civil basilica, a rectangular building in opus reticulatum and opus vittatum with an inner columnade of which today remain only the base of a column. The Forum, located on a artificial filled, was built at the time of Augustus, but had a subsequent arrangement with paving slabs of travertine in the first century AD, the eastern side is bordered by the Cardo Maximus, while on the western side the square scenically overlooking the plain of Grosseto (in the past overlooked the lake Prile).

From the Forum should first visit the southern part of the city where was the center of Flamines Augustales, that was the place of the imperial cult and was constituted from a rectangular area with walls covered of marmoree slabs and niches that accommodated statues of the dynasty Julio-Claudia, here in fact were recovered the statues and the inscriptions currently conserved in the Archaeological Museum of Grosseto. Next to this building was a small temple of Claudian age, a little further along the Cardo Maximus is the entrance of the Domus of Mosaics, a typical example of roman house of late republican age (80-60 B.C.). Going further, after a few hundred meters, we come to the southern hill where there is a residential quarters of the Hellenistic period, crossed by a dense network of channel, here is also a monumental Roman cistern carved into the rock with vault to opus incertum and inside covered of hydraulic mortar.

Back in the Forum area, the public square of the Forum continued towards north along the hill until reaching other buildings of imperial age between which the “Basilica dei Bassi”, a building with an apse of the first century A.D., probably used like hall of representation of the powerful local family of the Bassi. To the east of the Forum beyond the already described Civil Basilica, following the paved Roman road we pass on the left a quarter of the imperial age and then the Thermal area, a complex of the imperial age built in the first decades of the second century A.D. on a previous inhabited quarter and that was formed, apart from local thermal proper (“natatio”, “frigidarium”, “tepidarium”, “laconicum”, “calidarium”) from a great hall of irregular shape that gave approaches to the boilers. Beginning from the end of the 5th century A.D. the baths was re-used as Christian church, with three-nave interior while the surrounding area, restructured in Carolingian age (between 8th and 9th century) was used as cemetary.

Returning back to the area of the Forum we continue along the north hill that is dominated by the Amphitheater of elliptical shape with four entrances (two exposed and two barrel-vaulted), the structure is small and dates back to the first century BC, in the Middle Ages it was reused as a fortified building. On the right of the amphitheater a path leads down to the beautiful and interesting walk of the Etruscan walls, probably the most interesting part of the visit, I recommend definitely to do it.

The massive Etruscan walls that runs for about 3 km along the slopes of the two hills that form the city dates back to the sixth century BC, of it are still conserved long stretches consist of large polygonal blocks, the work consisted of seven gates leading into the city, but only three have been identified, one of the gate opened near the present entrance. Of the Etruscan walls are preserved large tracts to the east, north and north-west, the maximum height in the north (that of the walk) is 5 meters. The part of the walls to the west and southwest is instead characterized by smaller blocks due to a renovation in the Hellenistic period (fourth century BC).

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Etruscan walls, Roselle, Grosseto

The main access road to the city, Roselle