‘Good things often come in small packages’ is the translation of the Italian ‘Nella botte piccola c’è il vino buono’, which fits perfectly—especially in the Italian meaning of the proverb relating to wine—with the core of Cetamura del Chianti by Nancy Thomson De Grummond. This well-written study on the small hilltop settlement of Cetamura del Chianti in central Tuscany, located in the heart of the production zone of Chianti Classico wine, provides an excellent example of how the evolution of a small Etruscan community can be described and understood effectively based on several decades of systematic research and archaeological excavation. Above all, it is a demonstration of how knowledge of non-urban environments can enhance our understanding of the variety of economic, political and social scenarios that existed during the crucial transition between Italic culture and Romanised society in central Italy. Indeed, through detailed analysis and lucid interpretation of material finds and stratigraphic data from the excavations, the author reconstructs the life of a small and humble community over the centuries. Perhaps most notable are the detailed aspects of daily crafts and religious practices, which reveal close associations while never isolating the community and its development from the wider world and known settlement patterns.

The site of Cetamura has so far yielded evidence of a long Etruscan, Roman and medieval presence. Excavated and researched from 1973 onwards by Florida State University, this work has yielded considerable archaeological evidence in the two most prominent parts of the site. Highlights for the Etruscan period are a sanctuary dedicated to the little-known deities Lur and Leinth, and the adjacent handicraft district for iron working, spinning and weaving, and the production of pottery. For the Roman period, the baths—probably belonging to a villa or similar rural complex—along with other buildings, were partially destroyed by the fortifications associated with the later medieval occupation.

The two wells found in the main sectors represent an extraordinary source of information. Originally used to collect and store water, the deposits that accumulated within them now provide a window into the site's past, which can be reconstructed with exceptional continuity thanks to the materials contained and the painstaking analysis of the ceramic, faunal and botanical finds. From these materials, Etruscan daily life is tracked and outlined, including its economy, agricultural practices, environment and religious activity, affording glimpses of rituals and animal stock management and breeding. Also deserving of attention is the constant effort to relate the community of Cetamura to the surrounding agricultural and productive landscape. In doing so, the author offers rich insights into the ancient viticulture of the region.

The book addresses the ground-breaking theme of the flourishing of minor rural centres during the Middle and Late Iron Age in ancient Italy, at the dawn of the Roman conquest, within a well-balanced and integrated historico-archaeological methodology. The author uses all necessary and available sources, and deepens the interpretation by adopting a contemporary approach to the analysis.

In eight lively chapters, followed by a useful historical timeline for easy consultation and a full index, the development of Cetamura is narrated diachronically from its genesis to late antiquity, with a focus on its zenith around 300–50 BC. Thanks to a fluent and accessible writing style, underpinned by informative black and white illustrations and well-conceived maps, the site's topography and infrastructure become immediately comprehensible, allowing readers to appreciate the simple setting of an artisan dimension, as well as the reasons why this particular location was chosen for early occupation, probably starting around the seventh century BC.

Although the sandstone hill which accommodated the settlement was habitable only in limited areas, the location provided convenient access to water and raw materials. The settlement also was relatively well connected within a network of cities and minor centres via the road system running along the ridges of the Chianti Mountains. The same qualities explain the vocation for crafts that are characteristic of the site's history—a key element of continuity and a driving force for the community's economy. The attested production of iron objects, bricks, tiles, loom weights, textiles and modest objects of adornment, indicates that this variety of crafts was essential for the inhabitants, both for their own daily lives and for trade with the local area and the outside world.

The importance of this study lies in its ability to unravel so much information and understanding about a relatively minor centre that, although not immediately attractive, is nevertheless of great value precisely because of what it has revealed about the character and development of this and other decentralised and less opulent Italic communities.

Thus, the book represents part of a modern and original trend that seeks a better understanding of the continuity and variety of ancient, populated landscapes, while recognising the potential of minor realities and of the middle and lower classes for a more complete and reliable reconstruction of the underlying social contexts and diachronic changes and developments.

The resulting socio-economic and cultural portrait is that of a complex and heterogeneous environment, where the traditional dichotomies between elites and non-elites, or central settlements and surrounding agricultural landscapes, are supplemented by more subtle nuances, which archaeological research can now aspire to explore.

In that sense, the tiny reality of Cetamura makes ‘good things’ come to life, showing how smaller rural communities could survive and even prosper during a period of profound transformation across central Italy. Here, contrary to expectation, the upheavals caused by Roman military expansionism and its related wars, do not seem to have disrupted the continuity of life within Cetamura.

This book, worthy in a multitude of ways, offers new insights into large and complex issues, seen from the unusual but fascinating and precisely described perspective of a small community, strengthening a type of archaeological and cultural analysis which will surely benefit from further development in the coming years.