It was defined in 1939 by Italian archeologist Pia Laviosa Zambotti based,[1] among other things, on the characteristics of the Rinaldone necropolis in the region of Viterbo.

The definition of this culture (or facies) is problematic since it is based only on very limited elements and rarely specific to this region and this period,[8] for example a particular type of vase which, in fact, is only present in part of the tombs.

Typical objects of this culture are the flask-shaped jars, decorative elements such as antimony necklace, bone beads, steatite pendants and a considerable number of weapons including mallet heads, arrowheads, spears and daggers.

One of the most famous funerary contexts belonging to this culture is the so-called "widow's tomb" discovered in 1951 in Ponte San Pietro, near Ischia di Castro.

It contains the remains of a 30-year-old man of high rank, with a rich collection of pottery and weapons, and a young woman with a much more modest outfit, who was probably sacrificed to be buried with her husband.

[26] The influences of the Rinaldone culture beyond its main development area are visible in the presence of objects inspired or directly derived from it.

[34] In addition, the structure of the tombs, the funeral ritual and the presence in both cases of long arrowheads bring the cultures of Rinaldone and Gaudo closer together.

[36] This relative closure of Rinaldone's culture to external influences is particularly visible during the development of the Bell Beaker around 2600 BC.

[13] Antonio et al. (2019) analyzed the genetics of a male from a Chalcolithic site in southern Lazio at the foothill of Monti Ausoni, assigned to both Rinaldone and Gaudo culture; he was buried in Monte San Biagio, Italy, between ca.