Neither its name nor its valour will ever fall (...)
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(taken from the poem Taneto, by Nirisbo Scamandrico)

Close to Tannetum (Taneto) the is the site of an Etruscan settlement which is situated due north of an area of great archeological importance which bears witness almost uninterruptedly from the Neolithic to the Dark ages; here we find the burial site of the furnaces of S. Ilario. The most numerous and significant burials date back to the Etruscan era.
When in the 5th Century B.C. the Etruscan civilisation begins to give the first signs of decline, the Galls from the Boi tribe take advantage of the situation. Gradually integrating, not without first some violent clashes, into the pre-existing population and Etruscan culture, they pushed back the so called “Barbarians”, the Transalpine Celts and founded new villages and enlarged those already in existence. This was the case in Brescello and perhaps also in Tannetum. The first official act of occupation of the Po valley by the Romans was the founding of Ariminum (now Rimini) in 268 B.C. The Romans advancement was marked by violent battles with the Celtic population which had occupied the Padana Valley for almost two centuries. One of the most notable and important battles took place in the vicinity of Tannetum.

The Great Battle of 218 B.C.

Three centuries later Tannetum is cited as one of the 22 cities of the Regio Octavio, which corresponds approximately to Emilia Romagna, one of the administrative districts into which Augustus had divided Italy. The last historical citation refers to an event in the age of the "Longobards" which happened shortly before its destruction. The importance of Tannetum in history is due almost exclusively to the fact that it was situated at a strategic point for access to the North of the peninsula, both towards its centre and towards the west cost, it appears however that from the 3rd century AD. The main routes which weren’t local started to move towards the nearby cities of Parma and Reggio, therefore even before its violent destruction Tannetum had already begun a slow decline.
Very little is known about the fall of Tannetum, historical sources from antiquity to the early middle ages are few and fragmented. The town in all probability followed the progressive decline of the Roman Empire. After a brief period of Gothic domination there followed chaotic years of barbaric incursions mainly the work of the "Franchi". A Byzantine restoration was in turn destroyed by the arrival of the Longobards who began their reign. It is in this phase that we find the tragic episode of the destruction of Tannetum. The memories and interest for the lost city of Taneto was still very much alive in the eighteenth century. The main stimulus for the interest in the study of the ancient Taneto was probably the presence of ancient ruins still visible on the land, sings of a past which still stirred people’s imagination. We find the same curiosity in the nineteenth century in various studies of the time.

Count Giannantonio Liberati, who lived during the second half of the eighteenth century and who was owner of the Spalletti Estate took an interest in the ancient Tannetum. Among his various writing he composed a poem on the subject (the quote at the beginning of the page was taken from here) dedicating it to his friend the Marchoness Anna Malaspina who lived for a lengthy period in the property of the Pantari family of Gattatico. It is a composition in an Arcadian style which highlights the history and importance of Tannetum reliving the episodes from its origin to its destruction. In the Arcadian cultured society the Count assumed the name of Nirisbo Scamandrico, while the Marchioness was Fiorilla Dianeja.

(test taken from Tannetum - Myth and Reality). Gattatico town council - Archeological and Historical Group Tannetum.