Tarquinia

The Etruscans left almost no literature, and their painting survives mainly underground, here at Monterozzi where several thousand tombs were cut into the rock and around two hundred were painted. The scenes are not solemn: banqueters recline, musicians play the double flute, dancers move through stylised trees, hunters fish from small boats, and in the Tomb of the Leopards a party is under way with garlands and wine. Roughly twenty tombs are open on rotation, each entered down a steep stair and viewed through glass with lighting on a timer, since breath and light degrade the pigment. The National Museum in town holds a terracotta pair of winged horses.

History

Ancient Tarquinii, Tarchuna in Etruscan, was one of the oldest and most important Etruscan cities, linked in myth with its founder Tarchon and with the child oracle Tages, who gave the Etruscans their religious lore. The modern town took the ancient name only in 1922, and its necropolis is on UNESCO's list with that of Cerveteri (Wikipedia, Tarquinia).

What you'll find

• The Tomb of the Leopards - a painted banquet with musicians and dancers.
• The Tomb of Hunting and Fishing - divers and birds over a painted sea.
• The rotating access - about twenty of two hundred painted tombs open at a time.
• The winged horses - Etruscan terracotta in the town museum.

When to go

April to June and September to October; the site closes Mondays. Which tombs are open changes, so check on arrival. Summer heat on the open necropolis is heavy.

Good to know

Tombs are viewed through glass down steep stairs, with timed lights and no entry to the chambers. Only a fraction is open on any day. The necropolis itself is a bare field of doors.

Nearby

Cerveteri lies south; the Maremma coast is north.