ABSTRACT
The origins of Etruscan temples are sought in indigenous domestic architecture, as a continuous local development. The progression is seen as running through the mud brick house at Roselle, the complexes at Murlo and Acquarossa, to the monumental sanctuary. Etruscan temples were placed on discrete bases. Like the Greek temple, the house of the god was separated clearly from the ground on which it stood. However, unlike the straight steps of the Greek stylobate and stereobate, the Etruscan temple sat on a base which was moulded and carefully shaped with convex and concave curves, points and angles. It is a convention of discussions of Etruscan sanctuary architecture to quote not Seneca but Vitruvius. It was Vitruvius who described, and defined, the Tuscan order for the Romans, and his definitions still inform modern accounts of Etruscan temples. For Colonna, the creation of an acropolis, with a sanctuary or sacred area, defines a city in the political sense.
