Pisa e la ceramica in età romana e tardo-antica: le produzioni locali e le importazioni

In Pisa the tradition of artisan ceramics was already well established in Etruscan times and developed considerably during the process of Romanization (3rd-2nd centuries B.C.) to later become one of the key features of the ancient economy through its production of “terra sigillata”. Common vases, amphorae and bricks were produced in workshops concentrated along the Arno on the outskirts of Pisa and in the hinterland of Portus Pisanus, while “terra sigillata” was manufactured with Serchio clays in its suburbs and in the area to the North of the city. These production centres remained active throughout the Roman times. Thanks to its port system, Pisa conducted an intensely active import-export of ceramics throughout the entire Roman world and beyond: a specialisation which it still continued into the 7th century A.D. right up until the collapse of the Roman economic system.