Ricerc@Sapienza

The Matterella fortress and the castle of Precetto are located in the municipality of Ferentillo in the Umbrian province of Terni; the fortified structures belonged to a complex defensive system that arose to protect the southern sector of the Valnerina valley near the ancient roads to Spoleto and Monteleone. The two settlements for defending and controlling the territory are positioned one before the other along the steep slopes of the valley, which at this point forms a narrow gorge in which the Nera river runs.

Against the threat of Islamic, Norman and Greek pirates, starting from the eighth century, or due to con- flicts with the Genoese, Catalans, Neapolitans and French, up to the English and Dutch corsairs from the sixteenth century, Elba island is organized with a respectable defensive apparatus, especially thanks to the Pisans and the Lordship of the Appiano.

Rofalco is a late-Etruscan fortress in the territory of Vulci. Thanks to a long-term excavation project and the good preservation of the archaeological evidence some analyses can help to understand the economy of the site. This paper discusses the evidence related to textile production (spindle whorl, loom weights and bobbins) discovered so far. The dimension and weight analysis together with the spatial distribution and clustering demonstrate the crucial role of textile production within the economy of the fortress.