Etruscan Age

Between the end of the sixth and the beginning of the fifth centuries b.C., a large settlement was founded in the flatlands lying between the slopes of the Calvana, the Bisenzio river, and the Marinella stream.  The Etruscan settlement of Gonfienti came to be organized according to a regular urban plan, defined by a pattern of streets and canals, perpendicular to a northeast/southwest alignment. 

At present, only a few portions of the Etruscan site have been excavated: among these, there stands out the large residential building called Lotto14 (“Lot 14”), which follows a rectangular plan, and occupies 1,400 square meters. It faces south along a large street, and is arranged in a series of spaces that flank an internal courtyard, accessed and bordered on four sides by a portico.