Unveiling the Enigma
Exploring the History of the Ancient Etruscans
Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri
Nestled in the heart of Italy, the Etruscans created Italy’s most fascinating and enigmatic culture prior to the emergence of Rome.
Flourishing from the 9th down to the 3rd century BCE, they played a pivotal role in mediating the arrival of Greek and Eastern Mediterranean influence in the Italian peninsular and it was, above all, to them that the Romans looked in the early stages of their emergence as a political power.
Indeed, such quintessentially Roman things as the toga, the aqueduct and the paved road were adopted by them from their more advanced neighbours, as well as the alphabet – which to this day shows its derivation from an Etruscan source.
While written records are frustratingly scarce, it’s clear that their language was unrelated to any other and the central mystery of the Etruscans derives essentially from this; who exactly were they and where did they come from? Even in ancient times there was debate on the issue, and while it’s true that the modern consensus favours an autochthonous origin, there remains tantalizing suggestions that the story their priests told the Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th Century BCE might well be true… they were immigrants from the east.
Whatever the case, on our Etruscan Places tour this coming April, we do our best to follow all the leads, with an itinerary designed to throw a revealing light on these pleasure loving and mysterious people.
The Rise (and Fall) of the Etruscans
The Etruscans emerge as a distinct civilization from around 900 BCE in west central Italy – modern Tuscany and Umbria – with outliers north towards Bologna and south to the Bay of Naples (Pompeii was originally an Etruscan town).
Their society was complex and sophisticated, and without doubt they were the leading artists of the peninsular. They particularly excelled at sculpture in terracotta and bronze, made exquisite jewellery and were also experts in the more mundane fields of town planning, engineering and general infrastructure.
Ancient bridge of the Etruscan city, Vulci
Cerveteri, Tarquinia and Vulci, for example, were in their heyday amongst the biggest and most impressive cities of the Ancient Mediterranean. From a political point of view, they were organised into a league of 12 principal cities – the Dodecapolis – but this was an ethnic and cultural entity, not a political one. In fact they were a lot like the ancient Greeks, a vibrant collection of city states sharing a language, culture and religion while being in ferocious competition with each other. It was this lack of political unity that facilitated their eventual absorption by Rome in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE.
However their culture didn’t just disappear, it was absorbed by and then became an integral part of what we now know as Roman culture, with the upper levels of their society making a smooth transition into that of their domineering neighbour.
Just how close the two cultures were is demonstrated by the fact that the last three kings of Rome prior to the establishment of the Roman Republic in 509 BC were in fact ethnic Etruscans.
Art & Culture of the Etruscans
The legacy of the Etruscans is spread across many fields, but they were without doubt the most superstitious and at the same time the most art-loving of the peoples of ancient Italy.
Their dedication to trying to foretell the future, for example, remains with us today in such expressions as “it augurs well” or “that’s auspicious”, but it’s above all their art that has most spectacularly survived. Masters of sculpture (especially in terracotta and bronze where their works is on a par with that of 5th century Greece), of jewellery, and of painting, with the latter in particular providing a vivid window onto a people dedicated to pleasure and beauty.
A fresco in the Etruscan Tomb of the Leopards, Tarquinia
In the 1920’s, the painted tombs of Tarquinia were a revelation to D. H. Lawrence and his last work, “Etruscan Places” is a masterful account of the hold this culture can exert on a modern mentality.
Their pottery too was remarkable, in particular a ware known as bucchero which imitated the look of metal and has been found throughout the Mediterranean. And it wasn’t just the beauty of their own art that they appreciated, as is testified by the fact that the majority of the highest quality Greek black and red figure pottery populating museums today was found interred with wealthy Etruscans in their tombs in Italy.
The Capitoline Wolf, long considered an Etruscan bronze, feeding the twins Romulus and Remus
The Etruscans, though elusive in their historical documentation, have left this indelible mark on the cultural tapestry of ancient Italy. As we explore their art, cities, and burial sites, we unravel the mysteries surrounding this enigmatic civilization, allowing us to glimpse the vibrancy of a civilization that once thrived in the shadow of Rome.
Discovering the Etruscan Legacy
In April 2024, our Etruscan Places tour follows in the footsteps of D. H. Lawrence’s travel writings as this lost civilisation vibrantly comes to life.
Our itinerary begins in Rome, not only because the ancient forum there still has infrastructure from the time of Tarquinius Superbus, the Etruscan last king of Rome, but also because in Rome’s Villa Giulia is the world’s most comprehensive museum of Etruscan artefacts. Amongst the masterpieces on display there are the terracotta “Sposi” and the Apollo of Veii.
Sarcophagus of the Spouses or the terracotta “Sposi”, Villa Giulia, Rome
We then move to Orvieto, the religious centre of the ancient Etruscan world and the last of their cities to fall under roman domination. Using this as a base, we visit sites on the Tyrrhenian coast whose name, incidentally, preserves the ancient Greek word for Etruscan. Chief amongst these are Cerveteri, whose amazing Banditaccia necropolis of beehive tombs was the source of many of the gems of Etruscan art that we admire today.
Cerveteri, an important Etruscan town which flourished between the 7th and 4th century BCE
Further up the coast at Tarquinia, which not only has the Monterozzi necropolis with the painted tombs beloved of D H Lawrence, we find in the regional museum a pair of terracotta winged horses that are amongst the most elegant and impressive sculptures surviving from the ancient world.
In the later stages of our tour, we explore the Etruscan hinterland with visits to the upper Maremma sites of Sovana and Pitigliano. This gives us access to the extraordinary “Cave Etrusche”, deep and narrow clefts cut into the stone of the forest floor that wind for kilometres and whose purpose is still shrouded in mystery.
Cave Etrusche. The path connecting ancient necropolis and several settlements in the area between Sovana and Pitigliano
And then there is Vulci, another of the most significant of the cities of the Dodecapolis whose Archaeological Park has ongoing excavations together with well-preserved remains of ancient walls, roads, and an Etruscan bridge still in place across the gorge of the river Fiora. And finally, from a base in Cortona – itself one of the cities of the Dodecapolis – we reach Perugia, capital of Umbria whose massive Etruscan city gate from the 2nd century BCE, still in use, is a reminder of the impressive engineering of this vanished society.
The Etruscan Arch or Arch of Augustus – one of eight gates in the Etruscan wall of Perugia
Etruscan Places TOUR
Rome, Orvieto, Sovana & Cortona
Inspired by D. H. Lawrence’s collection of travel writings ‘Etruscan Places’, this 13-day tour takes us from Rome up through the beautiful landscapes of Central Italy, following in the footsteps of the enigmatic Etruscans.
Orvieto, Italy
