Arretium

An Etruscan and Roman city, and capital of Arezzo province, in Tuscany southeast of Florence. Known in antiquity for the fine workmanship of its city walls and its red-clay Arretine pottery, the site flourished as a commune in the Middle Ages before falling to Florence in 1384 and later becoming part of the grand duchy of Tuscany. Remains of the city walls, closely constructed and of stone and lightly fired brick, have been found. The quantity of bronze and the mass production of the pottery indicates a considerable degree of industrialization. Arretine ware, a glossy red tableware both plain and relief-decorated, originated at Arretium in the 1st century BC.

[modern Arezzo]. An Etruscan and Roman city some 80 km southeast of Florence on the Via Cassia, celebrated in antiquity for the fine workmanship of its city walls and its pottery. Remains of the city walls, closely constructed and variously of stone and lightly fired brick, have been discovered; it is likely that these fortifications were destroyed as one of the punishments visited on the town for supporting Marius against Sulla. A consider* able degree of industrialization is indicated by the quantity of bronze produced, including the famous chimaera now in Florence and the extensive bronze armaments supplied for Scipio’s African expedition, as well as the mass production of pottery. Arretine ware, a glossy red tableware, both plain and reliefdecorated, was produced at Arretium from around 30 BC, and came to dominate imperial markets for a century. The designs were imitative of metal vessels and had Hellenistic models: there is evidence that both the technology and the potters were imported from the Hellenistic East. Several factories, notably that of M. Perennius and his school, have been identified within Arretium and outside the city walls. As Arretine output declined, other centres developed to supply the continuing demand for this type of ware, and Arretine became the first example of the whole class of terra sigillata pottery.