Female Terracotta Figurine (so-called “Peppinella”)

The figurine, hand-modeled in reddish terracotta, represents a stylized female figure standing upright. The face, triangular in shape, features a slightly recessed forehead and chin, giving the head a simple yet distinctive profile. At the top of the head is a low, rigid headdress, probably symbolic or connected to a ritual context. At the center of the headdress there is a small vertical hole, made before firing, which was likely intended to secure an ornament now lost, such as a small accessory, possibly a metal insert or a decorative chain.

The figurine was found in Tomb 69 of the Necropoli di Macchiabate at Francavilla Marittima, as part of the rich grave goods of a young girl. These included amber beads, bronze ornaments, ceramic vessels, and a scarab made of serpentine stone. The archaeologist Paola Zancani Montuoro, who discovered the burial in the 1960s, interpreted the object as “an idol, placed on the child’s head to protect her remains and spirit in the afterlife, or simply a doll that had accompanied her short life.”

A charming anecdote is connected with the discovery of this object and explains its second name. While excavating the necropolis—an area that had yielded extraordinary finds—an excavation worker, upon uncovering the figurine, remarked: “C’abbiamo pure la peppinella,” which in the local dialect means “we’ve even got the little doll.” From that day on, among the staff of the Museum of the Sibaritide, the figurine has been affectionately known as “Peppinella.”