Apporti esterni e sviluppi locali nel consumo di bevande alcoliche fra IV e II millennio a.C. nell’Italia a sud del Po e nelle isole adiacenti

external inputs and local developments in consuming alcoholic Beverages BetWeen the 4th and 2nd millennia Bc in peninsular italy (south of the po river) and the adjacent islands - New evidence deriving from specialistic analyses is available as regards the occurrence of traces of alcoholic beverages in specific ceramic vessels in peninsular Italy and the adjacent islands between the 4th and 2nd millennia BC. Moreover, data on the consuming of alcoholic beverages in distinct contexts points to symbolic meanings attached to this activity. Considered together, these pieces of evidence can provide us with a general picture of the development of this cultural phenomenon, although future research will certainly enrich and detail this picture. One of the questions related to this research subject is to what extent external contacts with other regions, particularly the eastern Mediterranean, played a role in the appearance and consuming of alcoholic beverages in the analysed area before the Greek and Phoenician colonisations. Available evidence to evaluate the possible role of these external inputs is discussed in this paper. A further aspect considered is that of the relationship between the consuming of alcoholic beverages, specific cultural patterns of behaviour and social statuses, seen against the background of the diverse levels of social complexity characterising the analysed contexts.