Terrazzamenti e occupazione dei versanti montani nell’età del Bronzo dell’Italia settentrionale

The shaping of slopes and their infrastructure with terrace walls and «ciglionamenti» (= stabilisation of earthen slopes by means of sod seeded with particular herbaceous species capable of taking root in depth) is a research topic that has received little attention in the history of prehistoric and protohistoric studies in northern Italy. On the basis of the pioneering study by Nisbet and MacPhail (1983), it has been possible to present a fairly comprehensive list of sites that provide a perhaps partly random but sufficiently defined picture to argue that the phenomenon runs seamlessly throughout the Bronze Age, with a notable peak in the Middle Bronze Age. Although the list cannot yet be considered exhaustive, the considerable overall gap in the evidence in north-western Italy is probably due to the different modalities applied locally to the styles and duration of occupation of the area than is the case in NE Italy.