Tuesday 1 December 2026, 3pm
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A distinctive feature of the Etruscan religion was the meticulous nature of its worship and a constant desire to discern the will of the gods through divination, oracles, and omens. Livy describes the Etruscans as a people exceptionally devoted to religious practices and highly skilled in the art of cultivating them. This discussion will begin with literary sources to explore the various forms of divination in the Etruscan world ranging from well-known practices, such as aruspicina (haruspicy) and the interpretation of lightning, to lesser-known methods, including the observation of the flight of birds (oionoscopy or ornithomancy), lekanomancy, and clavifixio. The inquiry will continue by examining the oracles documented in Etruria and various forms of cleromancy—involving pebbles, sortes, and metal leaves—before focusing on the prodigia (portents) known from literary accounts, and finally concluding with defixiones (curse tablets).
Laura Ambrosini
An Etruscologist, educated under the guidance of the world’s leading Etruscologist, Prof. Giovanni Colonna, at Sapienza University of Rome she graduated in Classics, she received the title of Doctor of Philosophy in Archaeology (Etruscology), Degree in Classical Archaeology in the Postgraduate School of Archaeology, with first-class honours. She was excavation supervisor at the Pyrgi and Veii (Portonaccio and Piano di Comunità) excavations of Sapienza University of Rome for twenty years, and has conducted archaeological excavations with universities (in Volterra, Rome-Palatine Hill, Pyrgi, Veii) and Superintendencies (Rome-Aqua Marcia aqueduct, Corchiano (VT) votive deposit of Fosso Ritello). Laura is Research Director (Full Professor) at the Institute of Cultural Heritage Sciences (ISPC) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR). She has professorial status (National Academic Certification of Full Professor). She taught Etruscology and Italic Antiquities at the Foggia University (2009-2013), at the Naples University Federico II (2013-2014) and at the Genoa University (2015-today). She is a member of the Faculty Board of the PhD programme in Classical and Modern Literature and Culture - School of Humanities at the University of Genoa (since 2019 to present). She also carries out teaching activities at the CNR for theoretical and practical training courses, seminars and as a tutor for training internships. At the CNR ISPC she studies Southern Etruria, with a particular focus on rock cut necropolises, the history of rock funerary architecture, and cultural relations and contacts with similar complexes in the Mediterranean area. At the same time, she also studies the finest examples of Etruscan artistic craftsmanship, conducting research on figurative culture, production processes, technology, and the circulation of artefacts. She is the Scientific Director for the Etruscology and Italic Antiquities sector of the agreement between ISPC and the Swedish Institute of Classical Studies in Rome. She was Scientific Director of the excavations carried out in Norchia – Tomb of the Red Columns and in Veii – necropolis in the Agrifoglio area. Winner of many scientific awards, she was also Visiting professor at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris as winner of the “Directeurs d'Études Associés” (DEA) competition, the oldest international mobility program of the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (Fernand
Braudel and French Secretary of State for Universities) and won the CNR National Competition for Short Term Mobility at the Getty Research Center in Los Angeles. She has been collaborating for years for studies and publications with the Archaeological Superintendencies of Italy, the Swedish Institute of Classical Studies, the École Française de Rome, the French CNRS, the British Museum, the University of Amsterdam, the Austrian Archaeological Institute and the Oslo University. She is a Reviewer for the Evaluation of Projects on behalf of the Ministry of University and Research and for the evaluation of research products (ANVUR-MUR). She is an Expert Referee for Research Projects at Le Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique in Brussels. She is a member of some of Italy’s most prestigious archaeological institutes. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the book series “Le necropoli rupestri dell'Etruria meridionale” (The rock necropolises of southern Etruria). She is a member of the Scientific Committee and Referee Board of many journals. She has presented 125 scientific papers at national and international conferences in Italy and across the world. She is the author of 13 monographs and editor of 3 monographs, author of 234 scientific publications (articles, book chapters, conference proceedings).
Divination, Oracles, and Omens Network
