Prefazione

The present research, embracing the latest academic trends according to which the study of the context of an image is a fundamental tool for being able to understand more objectively its possible multiple interpretations, deals with the iconographic and contextual analysis of, first, the representations of female bathing scenes on Attic vases found in Etruria from the mid-6th century BCE. B.C. to the beginning of the 4th century B.C. and, secondly, of the same scenes in Etruscan and Faliscan ceramics from the second quarter of the 5th century B.C. to the end of the 4th - beginning of the 3rd century B.C. The study begins, through an interpretive approach, by presenting the various interpretations of bathing scenes, which may acquire an earthly or funerary dimension. Then, after dealing in chronological order with the iconographic evolution of the female bathing theme in the Attic ceramics found in Etruria, the process of appropriation of this iconography by the Etruscans and Falisci and the way in which it is adapted to local tastes and preferences is exposed. The image of the female bath survives in ancient iconography until the fifth century CE, not only in figurative ceramics but also in other artistic languages-a fact that demonstrates its particular importance in the visual imagery of the ancient Mediterranean. The study therefore aims to highlight the different uses of vessels decorated with such iconography and to understand the ideology and meaning of Etruscan and Faliscan women’s bathing practice.