city state · Italy

Rusellae

800 BCE – 294 BCE (approx.) · capital Rusellae

Etruscan hill city near modern Grosseto, ringed by massive walls, which overlooked the Lake Prile lagoon until Rome captured it in 294 BCE.

Origins

Rusellae, modern Roselle, occupied two hills above the coastal plain of the Ombrone, then bordering the lagoon of Lake Prile. Settled from the Villanovan period, it grew into a city in the 7th century BCE, when houses of unbaked brick were built, and in the 6th century it was enclosed by walls of huge polygonal blocks some 3 km long.

Rule and society

Its prosperity came from farming the Ombrone plain, fishing and salt in the lagoon, and links with the mining districts of Vetulonia, which it overtook in importance during the 6th century BCE. Excavation has revealed a forum area, houses and craft quarters, but little is known of its government beyond the general Etruscan pattern of aristocratic magistrates.

Decline and legacy

Livy records that Lucius Postumius Megellus stormed Rusellae in 294 BCE, taking 2,000 prisoners. As a Roman ally it sent grain and timber for Scipio's fleet in 205 BCE, and later became a Roman colony with a forum, baths and amphitheatre. It remained a bishopric until the see moved to Grosseto in 1138.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Rusellae. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/rusellae
MLA
“Rusellae.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/rusellae. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Rusellae.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/rusellae.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Rusellae’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/rusellae (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻