- published: 15 Mar 2015
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Adria is a town and comune in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of Northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po.
The Etruscan city of Adria ("Hatria") is below the modern city, three to four metres below the current level. Adria ("Hatria") may have given its name during an early period to the Adriatic Sea, to which it was connected by channels. Adria and Spina were the Etruscan ports and depots for Felsina (now Bologna).
The first settlements built on the area are of Venetic origin, during the 12-9th century BC. At that time the main stream of the Po, the Adria channel, flowed into the sea by this area. The Villanovan culture, named for an archaeological site at the village of Villanova, near Bologna (Etruscan Felsina), flourished in this area from the 10th until as late as the 6th century BC. The foundations of classical Atria are dated from 530 to 520 BC.
The Etruscans built the port and settlement of Adria after the channel was not the main stream anymore. During the later period of the 6th century BC the port continued to flourish. The Etruscan-controlled area of the Po Valley was generally known as Padan Etruria (Padan meant 'Po River'; cf. Celtic *dānu 'river'), as opposed to their main concentration along the Tyrrhenian coast south of the Arno.