Visentium

Visentium (also spelled Bisentium, Italian Bisenzio[1]) was the Latin name of one of the minor Etruscan cities. It was a boundary settlement on the southwestern shore of the Lago di Bolsena[2] and was settled from the Final Bronze Age until the Archaic period.[1]

The Etruscan name for Visentium was Vesnth, or Vishnth. It was called Visentium after the settlement was conquered by the Romans in 280 B.C.[2] During the Classical period, it fell under the orbit of the city of Tarquinia.[3] The artifacts such as urns and other grave goods excavated from its various necropoleis are said to indicate its importance during the Iron Age and the Orientalizing period.[3] These provided insights on the settlers' dwellings and perishable belongings, which augmented their pottery and metal works.[3] The artifacts, particularly, the bronze objects also suggest that Visentium was influenced by Vulci.[4]

Legacy

The Italianized 'modern' form Bisenzio gave its name to:

• a Tuscan river, the Bisenzio;
• a medieval Latin bishopric, which soon was renamed Roman Catholic Diocese of Castro del Lazio.

References

1. Stoddart, Simon K. F. (2009). Historical Dictionary of the Etruscans. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 24. ISBN 9780810854710.
2. De Puma, Richard Daniel (2013). Etruscan Art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 40. ISBN 9781588394859.
3. Turfa, Jean MacIntosh (2011). Catalogue of the Etruscan Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1931707527.
4. Wolstenholme, G. E. W.; O'Connor, Cecilia M. (2009). Medical Biology and Etruscan Origins. London: John Wiley & Sons. p. 20. ISBN 9780470714935.

42.574°N 11.875°E / 42.574; 11.875