v38_0002 - ETRURIA - POPULONIA Didrachme ou 20 assi

ETRURIA - POPULONIA

(3rd century BC)

Populonia was located on the Tyrrhenian coast, not far from present-day Piombino, opposite the island of Elba. The city is mentioned by Virgil (Aeneid, 10, 172), Livy (HR. 28, 45, 15; 30, 39, 2), Pliny (HN. 3, 50), Strabo (G. 5, 223) and Ptolemy (G. 3, 1, 14). The Etruscan name of the city "Pupluna" is known to us thanks to a monetary inscription with an older form of "Fufluna". The foundation of the city would result from the first union of twelve tribes of Etruscan origin and a tribe coming from Volterra. The great period of economic expansion is in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.