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50 Years at Cetamura

Cetamura Wine Tasting Fundraiser – Oct. 14

wine glasses

We’re celebrating! To kick off the 50th anniversary of FSU’s Excavations at Cetamura, Dr. Nancy de Grummond (FSU Classics Professor) and Gregg Anderson invite you to join us for an evening wine tour of Chianti. You’ll sample three wines from Badia a Coltibuono paired with appetizers while learning more about some of the amazing archeological discoveries soon to be on permanent display at the Museum at the Origins of Chianti in Gaiole, Italy.

A suggested $25 donation to help support ongoing research and FSU student scholarships can be paid at the door. Seating is limited and reservations are required. The event is open to members of the FSU and Tallahassee community ages 21 and over.

FSU logo

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE of ARTS and SCIENCES

Dear friend,

We are continuing our yearlong commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Cetamura and the inauguration of the Museum at the Origins of Chianti and Gaiole, and we invite you to join us as we bring the celebration home to Tallahassee with two days of festivities. You can join in person or via zoom (see links below).

Night at the Museums | Dodd Hall Auditorium
Friday, Sept. 8 | 6-8 p.m.

Enjoy highlights from an exciting summer of work in Italy, including stories from the museum inauguration and an encore performance of our student interns’ presentation on “Excavating the Past, Molding the Future: Life at Cetamura del Chianti Through the Years,” a fascinating look at life on the dig from a student archaeologist’s perspective. Reception in the FSU Heritage Museum in Dodd to follow.

Cetamura Day | FSU Alumni Center Ballroom
Saturday, Sept. 9 | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Take part in the Cetamura Day conference, held 50 years to the day from the opening of the dig site Sept. 9, 1973, and experience a showcase of the latest research by students, professors, and world-class lab scientists. Following a day of presentations and special events, the conference concludes with a happy hour and Chianti wine.

Registration is free. For a detailed schedule of events, click here to view the Conference Program. To register to attend in person, use the green button below. To attend via Zoom, use the links provided below.

We are excited to share with you the amazing summer we had and hope you will join us in Tallahassee to celebrate. Mark your calendar now and watch for further details soon.

Meanwhile, please consider donating to help with scholarships for our students and much needed support for our Cetamura archives. Visit spark.fsu.edu/cetamura to make a gift.

Sincerely,

Nancy de Grummond
Distinguished Research Professor
Florida State University Department of Classics

If you are unable to attend in-person, we welcome you to attend via Zoom. Use the links below to join at the time of the event.

Zoom login - Day 1

“Cetamura 50th Anniversary: A Night at the Museums”
Sep 8, 2023 05:30-8:30 PM ET

Join Zoom Meeting
https://fsu.zoom.us/j/91887943838

Zoom login - Day 2

“Cetamura Day: 50 Years of Excavation and Research”
Sep 9, 2023 08:30 AM-4:30 PM ET

Join Zoom Meeting
https://fsu.zoom.us/j/97960322331

Help us celebrate!!

wine glasses

In June at the height of summer in Chianti, we began celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of the launching of excavations at Cetamura by the Classics Department at FSU. We cut the ribbon for a commemorative museum exhibition at the FSU Study Center in Florence,  where the excavation was first offered as a course in the program back in 1973. We inaugurated the new Museum at the Origins of Chianti in Gaiole, Italy, which features Cetamura’s spectacular archeological discoveries. We were joined by a throng of VIP supporters of Cetamura for tours of the site and our lab and of the restaurant and kitchen of the famed Badia a Coltibuono, the winery where our work in Chianti has been based. 

Now we will be holding a conference on recent research at Cetamura by students, professors and international scientists, on Cetamura Day, Saturday, September 9, 2023. The evening before, designated A Night at the Museums, will feature reports on our new exhibitions by students who have been trained in Museum and Heritage Studies through the Cetamura program, and will close with a reception in Dodd Hall, the home of the Classics Department.  See the full program here.

We have launched our exciting and ambitious fundraising campaign to raise $500,000 to secure the future of critical archeological work by our FSU students, staff, and faculty, to develop innovative museum exhibitions and events, and begin conceptual planning to provide public access to Cetamura as an archeological park.  Please visit our FSU Spark page and contribute to help us to reach our goal.  

And please follow us on this website and on our Instagram to stay in the know!

Plans are well underway for the 50th Anniversary Celebration of FSU’s involvement at Cetamura and the inauguration of the new Civic Museum at the Origins of Chianti in Gaiole, Italy, which features Cetamura’s spectacular archeological discoveries.

Our VIP tour is now organized, and we invite you to view the itinerary below. We hope you will join as for the exciting week of activities that includes the inauguration of the museum (June 9, 2023) as well as Open House at the site of Cetamura and our lab at Badia a Coltibuono.

We have launched our exciting and ambitious fundraising campaign to raise $500,000 to secure the future of critical archeological work by our FSU students, staff, and faculty, to develop innovative museum exhibitions and events, and begin conceptual planning to provide public access to Cetamura as an archeological park.  Please visit our FSU Spark page and contribute to help us to raise the first $35,000 toward our goal. 

And please follow us on this website and on our Instagram to stay in the know!

Fifty years ago, Florida State University began excavation at the site of Cetamura del Chianti, located in the Italian region of Tuscany. Since then, hundreds of students from FSU and other schools as well have had the unrivaled opportunity to participate in excavation and preservation work at Cetamura as well as museum exhibitions and research.

In May and June, 2023, we will be back on site, digging with our regular crew of students from FSU International Programs. In addition to holding an Open House event with  tours of the site and the lab, we will also host a unique occasion, the official inauguration of the new museum at nearby Gaiole, the Museum at the Origins of Chianti. Within this space, numerous finds from Cetamura will be integrated into displays related to the history and archaeology of the special region known as Historic Chianti.

Another aspect to celebrate is the relationship between the Cetamura program and the FSU Study Center in Florence.  Fifty years ago in 1973, the excavation was a course in the Florence program: The students would come out for a long weekend, dig passionately, live in tents, eat soup they cooked over the fire, then go back to Florence to prepare for classes during the week. In 1978, Cetamura transitioned into a summer field school.  Gregg Anderson, one of the students on the dig in 1979, has taken on the task of chairing our 50th Anniversary Committee in planning all the events for the special Cetamura Week to be held June 4-10.Of course, Gregg and I hope you will consider making a donation so that we may continue what we started 50 years ago! Click here to donate.

Our VIP tour has now been organized and we invite you to check out the itinerary and give serious consideration to joining the group! [LINK to BROCHURE] Of course, you may wish to plan and book travel on your own to attend the inauguration of the museum and the Open House at the site and lab, all open to the public.

If you’d like to receive further details about any aspect of this year’s celebration, opportunities, and our exciting Tuscan trip to tour Cetamura, send me a note at [email protected]

Hope to see you soon,
Nancy (aka Dr. de)

Where we have been, where we are going

Archeologist headshot
Nancy de Grummond, Director, Archaeological Research at Cetamura del Chianti

 

Fifty years ago, Florida State University began excavation at the site of Cetamura del Chianti, located in the Italian region of Tuscany. Since then, hundreds of students from FSU and other schools as well have had the unrivaled opportunity to participate in excavation and preservation work at Cetamura as well as museum exhibitions and research.

In May and June, 2023, we were back on site, digging with our regular crew of students from FSU International Programs. We continued to find out about the Etruscan, Roman and Medieval habitation of the site, including the remains of a 12th-century Italian castle belonging to a powerful family of the period.

Another aspect we celebrated was the relationship between the Cetamura program and the FSU Study Center in Florence.  Fifty years ago in 1973, the excavation was a course in the Florence program. The students would come out for a long weekend, dig passionately, live in tents, eat soup they cooked over the fire, then go back to Florence to prepare for classes during the week. In 1978, Cetamura transitioned into a summer field school.  Gregg Anderson, one of the students on the dig in 1979, has taken on the task of chairing our 50th Anniversary Committee in planning all the events. Of course, Gregg and I hope you will consider making a donation so that we may continue what we started 50 years ago! Click here to donate.

If you’d like to receive further details about any aspect of this year’s celebration, and especially the conference on Cetamura Day and the Night at the Museums,  send me a note at  [email protected]

Hope to see you soon,
Nancy (aka Dr. de)

cetamura del chianti logo

Cetamura del Chianti, 50th Anniversary Celebration Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida

Friday, Sept. 8 – 6:00-8:00 PM- Dodd Hall Auditorium, FSU – “A Night at the Museums”
6:00 PM     Greetings on behalf of the Classics Department, Timothy Stover, Department Chair
6:15 PM     Nancy T. de Grummond, Lora Holland Goldthwaite and Gregg Anderson – Introduction
6:30 PM     Jessica Rassau – The New Museum in Gaiole in Chianti
7:00 PM     Lydia (Eve) Rozier and Illeana Sanders- Excavating the Past, Molding the Future: Life at Cetamura del Chianti through the Years, An exhibition in Florence
7:30 PM     Reception – Dodd Hall, Heritage Museum
Saturday, Sept. 9 – 9:00 AM to 5 PM- FSU Alumni Center ballroom – “Cetamura Day: 50 Years of Excavation and Research”
9:00 AM     Breakfast of Bagels, Coffee, Tea
9:15 AM     Lora Holland Goldthwaite- A Roman Military Veteran at Cetamura
9:45 AM     Nora Marosi – Restoring the Treasure of Chianti
10:15 AM    Coffee Break
10:45 AM    Nathan Wales and Oya Inanli, Continuity in Cetamura: Insights into Grapevine Cultivation and the History of Wine
11:45 AM    Break for Lunch
1:30 PM     Hudson Kauffman- Situating Situlae: Contextualizing Cetamura del Chianti’s Situla M.
2:15 PM     Stephanie Layton Kim- Bucchero Unearthed: An Etruscan fine ware from Cetamura, 1978-2003
3:00 PM     Nancy T. de Grummond- It’s the Pits! A 20-year Project at Cetamura
4:00 PM     Book signing and wine sipping (Nancy de Grummond, Cetamura del Chianti, University of Texas Press; Lora Holland Goldthwaite, Treasure of Chianti, Sillabe Casa Editrice, Livorno)

Join us in Tuscany, June 4-10 2023

Katie Brown headshot

Below is the preliminary itinerary for our special week of celebration at Cetamura.  To make reservations for the tour or to ask for further information, please write to Jessica Rassau ([email protected]) and Nancy de Grummond ([email protected]). It is recommended that reservations be made as soon as possible but no later than March 15, 2023.

Meet your escort

The VIP group will be accompanied by Dr. Katherine T. (Katie) Brown, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. Katie earned her B.A. in Art History (1989) from Florida State University, where she studied on the Florence Program twice (1987 and 1989). As an FSU student, she took numerous classes with Dr. de Grummond in both Florence and Tallahassee. She holds an M.A. (1993) and Ph.D. (1998) in Art History with a focus on Italian Renaissance art from Indiana University – Bloomington.  Katie has published three books on Late Medieval and Renaissance Italian art. She is an active board member of The Italian Art Society and lives in North Canton, Ohio, with her two daughters.

VIP Week Preliminary* Itinerary, June 4-10 2023

Join us for a 6-day adventure exploring Florence and the original Chianti region! After two days in Florence, we will travel to Radda in Chianti. From there we will explore the archaeological dig site and excavation lab of Cetamura del Chianti to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of FSU’s involvement and the inauguration of the new Civic Museum at the Origins of Chianti in Gaiole, which features Cetamura’s spectacular archeological discoveries.

Cost: $2,500 per person

Included in price: 3 nights in Florence (June 4th, 5th, and 10th)  4 nights in Radda in Chianti (June 6th- 10th). 4 dinners and 3 lunches.  Participation in all VIP exclusive activities and optional tours. Transportation includes pickup at airport, travel between Florence and Radda, transportation back to Florence, and transportation to the Florence airport. Please note: airfare to/from Florence is not included.

*Subject to change depending on local conditions.

You will have three nights to explore Florence, birthplace of the Italian Renaissance

 

Sunday, June 4th 

  • Fly into the Florence Airport Peretola (FLR); a car service will meet you and take you to your hotel in the heart of Florence. Take the day to stroll off the jet lag in Florence and rest up. There will be a chance to grab drinks and meet a couple Cetamura folks.

Monday, June 5th

  • In the morning, the group will visit the FSU Florence Study Center at Palazzo Bagnesi and view the Fine Arts Gallery exhibition that is curated by our Bucher-Loewenstein scholars and focuses on the history of excavations at Cetamura.
  • Take the afternoon to meander the streets of Florence and enjoy the culinary scene with lunch on your own.
  • Join us in the evening for the “Bagnesi Lecture” at the FSU Study Center on the history of the FSU Florence Program and Cetamura. Following the lecture, we will have dinner together with FSU admin and faculty.
Radda in Chianti archeology tour
The picturesque hilltop town of Radda in Chianti will be your home for four enchanting nights

Tuesday, June 6th

  • Check out of the hotel; free morning, with an optional tour of the National Archaeological Museum in Florence.
  • In the early afternoon, the group will depart Florence by bus and travel to Radda in Chianti. After checking into the hotel, you can enjoy a beer with archaeologists at Chianti Brew Fighters in Radda or have a glass of Chianti on the terrace with Dr. Nancy de Grummond! Get to know the ’23 Cetamura Crew and join them for dinner and drinks on the terrace. Don’t miss the amazing sunset!

Wednesday, June 7th

  • Join us for a Cetamura Open House! Depart Radda in the morning and travel to the Cetamura dig site where students will be excavating and sharing the history of the site. Be sure to wear /bring court-type shoes for climbing up the hill to Cetamura.
  • Following the site, the group will travel to the Badia Coltibuono for a tour of the archaeology lab, the abbey and the gardens. The group will enjoy a lunch at Coltibuono with wine tasting after the tour.

Thursday, June 8th

In the morning, you’ll have a choice between two excursions.

Enjoy lunch with your traveling companions at Badia a Coltibuono, a charming monastic complex in the Chianti Mountains.

(1) Participate in a culinary exploration of Tuscan Cuisine with a half-day cooking class with Signora Emanuela Stucchi at Badia a Coltibuono. Class starts at 10 am; it will end after lunch with coffee and grappa served in the large fireplace room. Classes include: cooking lesson, dining, wines, guided visit, recipes, a diploma and the apron. 

Explore the art of Tuscan cooking with Signora Emanuela Stucchi at Badia a Coltibuono

(2) Discover how modern technologies are utilized to explore ancient sites with Kurtis Butler. He will demonstrate how he uses drones to map Cetamura. (More activities will be available on site. Total of 3-4 hours) Participants will bring their own lunch to the hill. We recommend the sandwiches at Bar Dante across the street from your hotel.

Take the afternoon to explore the artisans and shops of Radda. Join us in the evening for the exclusive VIP preview of the exhibition in the Museum at Gaiole, with guiding by Cetamura director Nancy de Grummond and conservator Nora Marosi.  Following the preview, we will have dinner at Badia a Coltibuono. Dress comfortably, “resort casual” is accepted.

Friday, June 9th

  • Participate in an optional half day exploration of Castellina in Chianti. By visiting Castellina, you’ll have visited all three of the original Chianti towns, Radda, Gaiole, and Castellina. A guided tour of the Etruscan tomb, and museum at Castellina will be provided. Meander the town and have some lunch on your own.
  • In the evening, the group will travel to Gaiole for the Inauguration of the Museum at the Origins of Chianti with an Etruscan section from Cetamura. There will be a reception and aperitivo to celebrate the opening with the local community. Afterwards, we will travel back to Radda and rejoice over a dinner in town.
Attend opening night at the Museum at the Origins of Chianti featuring artifacts from Cetamura

Saturday, June 10

  • The group will travel to Gaiole for the Museum conference on biodiversity in Chianti, including research on grape seeds, history of vineyards, animals, and the environment at Cetamura. The conference will take place at the auditorium in the museum in Gaiole and lunch will be provided. The conference is from 10:00 am -3:00 pm.
  • Following the conference, the group will travel back to Radda to collect their bags and then continue on to Florence for the evening. The group will spend their last night at the Florence hotel they stayed in earlier that week

Sunday, June 11th

  • Your tour ends, and you may request transfer to the Florence airport or train in the morning on Sunday.

We are embarking on an exciting and ambitious fundraising campaign to raise $500,000 to secure the future of critical archeological work by our FSU students, staff, and faculty, to develop innovative museum exhibitions and events, and begin conceptual planning to provide public access to Cetamura as an archeological park.  To kick off this endeavor, we have launched an FSU Spark page to raise the first $35,000 toward our goal.  We believe our VIP’s are extremely important for the success of our fundraising, and hope that you will make a generous donation to help us reach our goals and provide for the continuity and the best experience possible for  Cetamura and the FSU students and staff involved in the project

Fifty Friends of the 50th Anniversary of Cetamura

As Cetamura approaches its 50th anniversary, it is time to celebrate all its supporters and participants in the excavations and research through the years.  This page is intended to present 50 friends, 5 at a time at least once a month, starting with those who were connected in the earliest years (the 1970’s and 1980’s) and finishing with some of the most recent enthusiasts.  Many thanks to everyone who has shown so much dedication! Click on the image below to read the bio.

Clark Syker, Cetamura del Chiant archeological site
Clark Sykes
Cheryl Sowder, Cetamura del Chiant archeological site
Cheryl Sowder
Patrick Rowe, Cetamura del Chiant archeological site
Patrick Rowe
Gregg Anderson, Cetamura del Chiant archeological site
Gregg Anderson
Charles Ewell, Cetamura del Chiant archeological site
Charles Ewell
Dave Funk, Cetamura del Chianti
Dave Funk
Harriet Coverston, Cetamura del Chianti
Harriet Coverston
Michael Robertson, Cetamura del Chianti
Michael Robertson
Margie Thompson, Cetamura del Chianti
Margie Thompson
Ceil Bare
Elizabeth Woodsmall
Lorenza dei Medici, Emanuela's mother.
Kaitlin Rizzo
Kurtis Butler
Lora Holland Goldthwaite
Nicole Cuddeback
Lady and young girl
Nora Marosi

Here are 5 of the earliest Cetamurans! 

Clark Syker, Cetamura del Chiant archeological siteClark Sykes

Clark Sykes was the first field director at Cetamura, for the initial 1973-1974 seasons. John Reich, a professor at the FSU Florence Study Center, offered him the job of field director, because of his experience excavating archaeological sites in the U.S. 

Clark arrived in Florence in August, 1973, and quickly set about securing proper equipment for the excavation, surveying the site, and setting up a lab in a church basement in San Giovanni Valdarno. Once the students arrived, they established a tent camp at Cetamura, and he began working on training the crew in the basics of archaeological methods and techniques. They spent most weekdays excavating the initial test pits and trenches and weekends at the lab, cleaning and cataloging recovered artifacts. Work aside, Clark has wonderful memories of listening to opera on the hilltop with students, visits from the Stucchi Prinetti family, and dinners at the Badia a Coltibuono. Without question, his experiences at Cetamura and in Italy were defining moments in his life. Clark taught anthropological archaeology at colleges in Virginia and at Massachusetts and left academics in 1983 for a career in high tech, retiring in 2011.

Cheryl Sowder, Cetamura del Chiant archeological siteCheryl Sowder

Cheryl L. Sowder received her B.A. in Art History and her M.A. in Classics (1978) from Florida State University, and went on to become Associate Professor of Art History at Jacksonville University. While attending the FSU Florence program in the spring of 1976, she served as assistant to the Cetamura field director, Prof. John Oleson. She later wrote her MA thesis on the Etruscan utilitarian pottery from the site, under the direction of Dr. Nancy de Grummond, and subsequently published her results in Archaeological News, 1984. Cheryl returned to the site as Dr. de’s Assistant Field Director at Cetamura in 1983-84, and then much later from 2011 to 2017, when she served in the epic mission to finish the excavation of the very deep Well # 1. As Registrar for all finds coming out of the well, she made brilliant and detailed records that have facilitated the study of everything found from the Etruscan and Roman levels. She published an article in Etruscan Studies, 2015, on special Etruscan finds from Well #1.

Patrick Rowe, Cetamura del Chiant archeological sitePatrick Rowe

Patrick Rowe became involved with the excavations at Cetamura when he was a student on the FSU Florence program in the fall of 1976, taking the field with Prof. John Reich. He returned as field director in 1978, for the first summer field school, and continued to work at Cetamura in the summers until 1982. In 1979, he produced a valuable FSU MA thesis covering the early work at Cetamura. Pat resumed work at the site as Assistant Director under Dr. de Grummond in 1987, continuing to work each summer up until 2002. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1989, with a dissertation on Etruscan temple architecture directed by Dr. de. Through the years he supervised the creation of the first and still most authoritative map of the site, meticulously recording the walls uncovered.

Dr. Rowe taught at Pensacola State College and the University of West Florida in the period 1983-2010, during which years he became a skilled and distinguished collector of works of art, in particular prints. He has frequently shared his collections with the public, arranging for exhibitions of originals by Alphonse Mucha, Hokusai, Daumier, Aubrey Beardsley and Bill Mauldin.

Gregg Anderson, Cetamura del Chiant archeological siteGregg Anderson

Gregg Anderson is the recently retired President of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts’ Registry Collection Hotel brand. He is a 1978 graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Mass Communication. Gregg was first introduced to Cetamura while studying with Dr. John Reich on the FSU Florence program in 1977 and returned to Cetamura to participate in the second Summer Field School in 1979. He spent most of those six weeks working inside Well # 1 on Zone I.

Gregg spent 14 years in various roles at Wyndham after a successful career in marketing and brand strategy with the Walt Disney Company in Japan and the US. Earlier in his career Gregg served as Marketing Director for the Pinellas County (Florida) Arts and Humanities Council, was a board member of Habitat for Humanity of the Sand Hills (North Carolina), and was a long serving local executive with the Boy Scouts of America.

Gregg lives in Windermere, Florida with his wife Shawn and is a Rotarian, trying to live every day adhering to the organization’s motto of “Service above Self.”

Charles Ewell, Cetamura del Chiant archeological siteCharles Ewell

Charles Ewell fell in love with Italy as a youth and has lived there much of his life at his family estate at Borro al Fumo, not too far from Cetamura in the commune of Gaiole in Chianti. “Carlo” was a member of the first FSU summer field school in 1978, and returned to Cetamura many times through the years to work in other seasons. He received his B.A. in Archaeology from Yale University (1975), an M.A. in Anthropology from George Washington University (1981) and a second M.A. in Architectural History from the University of Virginia (1991). He obtained the Ph.D. from Florida State University with a dissertation on An Etruscan Hellenistic Workshop: The Kiln and Artisans’ Zone at Cetamura del Chianti (2000), directed by Dr. Nancy de Grummond. From 1990 to 2001 Dr. Ewell served as Associate Field Director at Cetamura, returning again in 2010-2018, with students from his classes at Syracuse University and New York University in Florence. He published an article on the kiln, Structure K, in Etruscan Studies, 2014.

Dave Funk, Cetamura del ChiantiDave Funk

David George Funk is a retired archaeologist who worked at Cetamura summer after summer from 1983 to 2002. Dave received his master’s degree in 1990, writing a thesis that was a fundamental early study of ancient glass pieces from the site, The Glass Artifacts of Cetamura del Chianti, Italy (1973-1987).  His chief research interest was the events of the 1st century BCE in the Sienese Chianti, the years which saw the steep decline of recognizably Etruscan culture in ancient Tuscany.  This was the topic of his doctoral dissertation, The Creation of Roman Etruria (2001).    Known affectionately and quite correctly as “Dr. Funk,” he seemed to cast a spell on every trench where he dug, and through the years unearthed more significant artifacts than any other member of the crew. Year after year, he was recognized for the Golden Trowel at the farewell dinner awards night.

Harriet Coverston, Cetamura del ChiantiHarriet Coverston

Harriet Coverston studied at the FSU Study Center in Florence the year it opened, 1966-67. She was a “mud angel”, who worked at the Biblioteca Nazionale pushing mud out of the books following the great Florence flood. Harriet met Nancy de Grummond at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Florence Study Center in February, 2016. Nancy invited the Angels to see artifacts at the Florence facility.  Harriet was also invited to visit the site of Cetamura, which she calls an amazing experience. 

Harriet majored in math and graduated from FSU in 1967. She is a computer scientist specializing in High Performance archiving file systems. She worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory from 1967-1974 and for Control Data Corporation from 1974-1986. In 1986, she cofounded LSC, where she architected and implemented SAM-FS, an advanced storage management system, and QFS, a high-performance file system.  She was a Distinguished Engineer at Sun Microsystems where she designed and implemented Shared QFS, a SAN file system. In 2011, She co-founded Versity Sofware, Inc., where she is currently the CTO.

Harriet looks forward to returning to Florence in June 2023 to be at the grand opening of the permanent collection at the Cetamura museum.

Michael Robertson, Cetamura del ChiantiMichael Robertson

Dr. Michael Lee Robertson is  Professor Emeritus of Classics and Humanities, and retired Chair of the Humanities Department at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. He first excavated at Cetamura in the summer of 1978, the first year that crew members were housed at the nursery school (Scuola Materna) in Gaiole in Chianti. He subsequently excavated during the seasons of 1980, 1983, and 1985, the last a season of research that resulted in the first comprehensive publication in the important Etruscan journal Studi Etruschi of the graffiti (sigla) inscribed on the pottery at Cetamura. Michael returned to Gaiole for a week in the summer of 2000 for the opening of Cetamura Antica, the first special exhibition of Cetamura. He and the other alumni in attendance were graciously given accommodations at the Castello di Brolio. What a treat that was! Michael also attended the opening of Wells of Wonders at the National Archaeological Museum in Florence in June of 2017 and is looking forward to attending the grand opening of the Cetamura museum and 50th anniversary celebration of the FSU field school in June 2023

Margie Thompson, Cetamura del ChiantiMargie Thompson

Margie Thompson was born and raised in Miami, Florida, attended the 1966/67 inaugural year of the FSU/Florence Study Center, and graduated from Florida State University where she earned a degree in Social Studies Education with minors in Geography and Government.  Her overall experiences while in Florence, helping with the recovery of the 1966 Arno Flood, and her exposure to Italian and other European cultures gave her an intense passion to travel.  So, upon completing her teaching internship and certification, Margie immediately joined Pan American World Airways as an Italian qualified Stewardess, was quickly promoted to Purser, and subsequently became the Community Action Program Coordinator for Pan Am’s Miami base, working in Public Relations, organizing and hosting social events in the USA and overseas, creating hundreds of volunteer outreach projects for Pan Am employees, along with providing support and guidance programs for flight attendants.  At the same time, she acquired her real estate license.  Meanwhile, she has been married for 49 years to her wonderful husband, Bryson, who flew as a pilot at both Pan Am and United Airlines, raised two wonderful sons, has two beautiful grandchildren, and continues to travel the world.

While attending the 50th FSU/Florence Study Center gathering in February 2016, Margie had the honor of meeting Dr. Nancy de Grummond, where upon they became fast friends.  Not only did Nancy enrich Margie’s life by sharing the story of Cetamura, but the following Fall, while in Florence for the 1966/67 50th Reunion of the class, known as Gli Angeli del Fango, or Mud Angels, Nancy invited Margie and Bryson to the Florence National Archeological Museum to show and teach them about some artifacts found on the excavation site.  At that point, they were hooked on all things Cetamura and Etruscan and have been following achievements there ever since.  They are awed that Nancy’s vision of opening a permanent display at the Museum at the Origins of Chianti in Gaiole Museum will soon be realized!  Attending the 50th Anniversary of FSU’s Excavations at Cetamura Celebration in June 2023 is at the top of their bucket list!!

Fifty Finds and other highlights from 50 years at Cetamura

Between now and the 50th Anniversary Celebration, we will highlight fifty finds from Cetamura and other memories over the last fifty years on our Instagram.  Follow along to see spectacular artifacts and take a walk down memory lane.

From Drawings to Drones: 50 Years of Mapping at Cetamura

Kurtis Bulter, Cetamura del Chianti
Kurtis Butler of the Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center, at the University of Wyoming.

At a recent lecture sponsored by the Student Archaeology Club in the Classics Department at Florida State University,  Kurtis Butler  discussed  “From Drawings to Drones: 50 Years of Mapping at Cetamura del Chianti, Italy. ”  Kurtis works at the Wyoming Geographic Information Science Center, at the University of Wyoming, and in the summer takes over as staff cartographer  for Cetamura.  He followed the lecture with a demonstration of the drone’s capability on Landis Green out in front of the FSU main library.  Kurtis will be on site at Cetamura in May and June, where he will conduct experimental and innovative photography of individual trenches and the site as a whole. 

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We’re on the hunt for photos from the last 50 years at Cetamura.

If you have any to share, please send them to: [email protected].