Long before the creation of the Roman empire, the regions of Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio were populated by the Etruscans. It was this early, yet highly developed, civilisation which built the cities of Cerveteri, Tarquinia and Vulci. Today, thousands of years after the first stones were laid, visitors to central Italy can still admire the impressive architectural feats computed by the Etruscans, in a number of sites, each of which justly awarded World Heritage Status by UNESCO.
Our exploration of Etruscan Italy commences with the Monumental Necropolis of Banditaccia, in Cerveteri, or Caere as it was called by the Etruscans. This is no ordinary burial ground, but rather a veritable city of the dead, with a network of roads lined with burial mounds, constructed so as to resemble not graves but houses. The site is home to some four hundred tombs, the most famous of which the Tomba dei Rilievi (tomb of reliefs), containing a series of impressive wall paintings depicting scenes of everyday life, and the Tomba delle Cinque Sedie (tomb of the five chairs) in which to observe five statues, statues which were to greet the dead on their arrival in the realm of the after life and join them in a welcoming banquet.
The modern day town of Cerveteri is home to the Cerite National Museum, an obligatory port of call for all those wishing to learn more about the history of the ancient city of Caere. Also worthy of visit, are the town's Medieval castle, the 16th century Palazzo Ruspoli, the Fontana del Mascherone and the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, this latter a modern house of worship built so as to incorporate the original ancient medieval church.
Fifty kilometers are all that separates Cerveteri from Tarquinia, the historic center of which boasts a number of interesting churches (such as the Romanesque Church of Santa Maria di Castello and the 14th century Church of Santa Maria Valverde) and an impressive Etruscan Museum. In the Museum, housed within the historic Palazzo Vitelleschi, a number of tombs from the nearby Necropolis of Monterozzi have can be seen, complete with stunning wall paintings.
Between Montalto di Castro and Canino, on the banks of the Fiora river, lies the Vulci Naturalistic Archaeological Park, park in which to find the ruins of the Etruscan city of Vulci, the Tomb of Francois, Lake Pellicano and the Badia Castle and Museum. Close by, in the town of Canino, lies the Santi Apostoli Giovanni e Andrea Collegiate Church: an 18th century masterpiece famous for its frescoes and precious marble sculptures.
