Le due Falerii: un caso di studio tra continuità e discontinuità

Considerable urban growth, following the Roman conquest of Veii, and a reorganization of public spaces and buildings can be recognized at Falerii Veteres between the beginning of the 4th and the first half of the 3rd century BC. This building intensity, especially concentrated in the Scasato area, probably led to some scholars identifying the forum of the Faliscan city in that area. However, if that wide urban sector indisputably houses public buildings, since at least the beginning of the Archaic period, its identification with the political, religious and administrative heart of the city is not at the moment fully demonstrable. Utilizing the study case of Falerii Veteres, my paper aims to analyse the (im)possibility of recognizing in South Etruscan cities (in the period immediately preceding the Roman conquest) the organization of public places that hosted the functions generally attributed to the forum.