Recent excavations and theoretical advances have revealed evidence of an early and perhaps independent nucleation and centralization process in the region south of the Alps, a phenomenon that has been undervalued in previous studies. In this paper I present a broad overview and attempt to reassess the role of the Cisalpine regions as crossroads of trade and cultural transfer between the Mediterranean and central Europe through a critical evaluation of key archaeological evidence. I adopt alternative and up-to-date perspectives on the urbanization phenomenon, disentangling commonsensical and text-driven definitions of urbanism and social formation, while challenging the outdated “check-list” approach. This theoretical framework should promote a paradigm shift that leads to a substantial backdating and broadening of the appearance of complex site agglomerations in northern Italy, avoiding unidirectional development patterns and instead looking at possible cases of instability, ephemerality, and seasonality. The adoption of a comparative perspective triggers a timely disentanglement of the simplistic equation between urbanism and social hierarchy. Beyond a narrow and selective emphasis on elites, this paper considers alternative social entities and actions, including commoners, subaltern groups, and cooperation.

最近的发掘和理论进展揭示了阿尔卑斯山以南地区早期且可能是独立的成核和集中过程的证据，这一现象在以前的研究中被低估了。在本文中，我提出了广泛的概述，并试图通过对关键考古证据的批判性评估，重新评估南阿尔卑斯地区作为地中海和中欧之间贸易和文化转移十字路口的作用。我对城市化现象采取另类和最新的观点，理清城市化和社会形态的常识性和文本驱动的定义，同时挑战过时的“清单”方法。这一理论框架应该促进范式转变，从而导致意大利北部复杂场地聚集的出现大幅回溯和扩大，避免单向发展模式，而是着眼于不稳定、短暂和季节性的可能情况。比较视角的采用引发了城市化与社会等级之间简单化等式的及时解构。除了狭隘和选择性地强调精英之外，本文还考虑了其​​他社会实体和行动，包括平民、底层群体和合作。