Among the many sites in Tuscany, which have been the subject of archaeological attention during the past several decades is Poggio Civitate. The operation is one of the longest continuously operating foreign excavations in Italy, started in 1966, and has produced one of the earliest monumental buildings found in Italy to date. The building, constructed ca. 600 BCE and destroyed ca. 530 BCE provides a very complete picture of the architectural development of an Etruscan site from the mid seventh through late sixth century BCE and allows us to see how small hilltop villages functioned socially and economically. Who destroyed it or why is unknown. Text in English/Italian.