#  Monte Torretta di Pietragalla: A pre-Roman Hilltop Settlement in Ancient Lucania Excavated by Francesco Ranaldi (1956-1965) and Dinu Adamesteanu (1969-1992) 

 



In 2015, during a study visit to the *Museo Archeologico Provinciale di Potenza* (MAPP), a team from the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne rediscovered the archaeological materials that Francesco Ranaldi had excavated at Monte Torretta di Pietragalla between 1956 and 1965. Just two years after his appointment as director of the museum in 1954, Ranaldi launched one of the most important archaeological research projects of the time in Basilicata. The investigations on Monte Torretta, which turned out to be an important Lucanian hilltop fortified site, brought to light a large part of the fortification system that is still visible today. Ranaldi’s discoveries on Monte Torretta were never published until his tragic suicide in the museum in 1988. The materials and documents, which were thought to be lost for years, were rediscovered during the reorganization of the museum’s storage rooms. Excavation documents, administrative records and over a dozen boxes of artefacts were recovered from Monte Torretta di Pietragalla.

Monte Torretta di Pietragalla is located in the mountainous hinterland of southern Italy, historically known as Lucania, and offers a unique perspective for the study of the long-term evolution of settlement patterns and socio-political dynamics in the region. Athough the hill is known for its fortifications dating back to the early 3rd century BC, it was inhabited at least since the Late Bronze Age, with continuous occupation from the Archaic period, long before the construction of the walls. These earlier phases are not well documented, but they are of central importance for understanding the later transformation of Monte Torretta into a fortified settlement. The extensive chronological evidence of the site provides a unique opportunity to study how Italic communities transformed their landscapes and adapted the to the socio-cultural changes that eventually led to the integration of Lucania into the Roman sphere. Monte Torretta di Pietragalla offers a unique opportunity to answer these questions, taking into account the evidence of old and unpublished excavations.

The *Pietragalla Project* can be visualized as a three-stage rocket. The first phase, which lasted from 2014 to 2017, consisted of scouring the archives and storerooms of the *Museo Archeologico Provinciale di Potenza* in search of documentation and material from old excavations. The second phase, carried out on site between 2017 and 2023, aimed to locate the physical evidence of these old trenches, and thus re-contextualize the artefacts previously catalogued in the MAPP’s warehouse, while obtaining additional evidence. The final phase, which forms the framework of this program, will focus on collating and completing the documentation and synthesizing the results of the two previous phases into a comprehensive written monograph on the archaeology of Monte Torretta di Pietragalla, placing it within the broader history of pre-Roman hilltop settlements in ancient Lucania.

The publication project is directed by [**Dr. Alain Duplouy**](https://whitelevy.fas.harvard.edu/people/alain-duplouy).



 

  ![fig. 1 - Monte Torretta](/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2025-05/fig.%201%20-%20Monte%20Torretta.jpeg)

 



 

 fig. 1 - Monte Torretta



   

 

 

 

 

  ![fig. 2 - Main Gate](/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2025-05/fig.%202%20-%20Main%20Gate.jpg)

 



 

 fig. 2 - Main Gate



   

 

 

 

 

  ![fig. 3 - Heracles](/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2025-05/fig.%203%20-%20Heracles.jpg)

 



 

 fig. 3 - Heracles



   

 

 

 

 

  ![fig. 4 - Gorgoneion](/sites/g/files/omnuum3196/files/2025-05/fig.%204%20-%20Gorgoneion.jpg)

 



 

 fig. 4 - Gorgoneion



   

 

 

 

 

 



 

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