Italian Archaeologist Discusses Orvieto's Subterranean Past in AIA Lecture at Lawrence University

APPLETON, WIS. -- Archaeologist Claudio Bizzarri, a specialist in Etruscan antiquities, will discuss the subterranean aspects of the ancient hilltop city of Orvieto, Italy in an Archaeological Institute of America lecture at Lawrence University.

Bizzarri, who teaches at the University of Macerata in the modern city of Orvieto, presents the slide-illustrated lecture, "Evidence of the Past in the Underground Structures of Orvieto," Wednesday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. in Lawrence's Wriston Art Center auditorium. An informal reception will follow the address, which is free and open to the public.

Bizzarri will explore the original town plan of the central Italian city of Orvieto, which was first inhabited by the Etruscans in the 8th and 9th centuries B.C. He will discuss aspects of daily Etruscan life by looking at the remains of various underground structures, including tunnels, cisterns, aqueducts and kilns that helped Orvieto flourish. Orvieto was known for its production of ceramics and bronze work before it was razed by the armies of Roman expansionism.

Bizzarri earned his Ph.D. in Greek and Roman archaeology at the University of Perugia in Italy.