TUSCANY, the LAND of ETRURIA So Powerful Was Etruria
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TUSCANY, THE LAND OF ETRURIA So powerful was Etruria TUSCANY, THE LAND OF ETRURIA renown of its was Etruria that the The territory of Tuscany is considered to conduct of their home lives. be the cradle of Etruscan Civilization, The Etruscans went to table “as often as which had its beginnings in the 9th twice a day”, while relations between century B.C. and ended in the 1st men and women were based on century A.D., becoming part of the marriage. Women had a clearly defined Roman population in accordance with social role, took part in meals with the Lex Iulia of the year 90 A.D.. their husbands, paid great attention to personal appearance, wore jewellery, The Etruscan people had particular had a liking for sumptuous garments, qualities which render them, even went in for fancy hairstyles and wore today, fascinating, mysterious and conspicuous make-up, kept their curiously modern. They were considered maiden names when married, had a the best organized of all the peoples right to their own tombs and could buy living along the coast of the Tyrrhenian and sell property and inherit it. Sea. They were very skilled at exploiting Etruscan religion was based on the idea mineral resources, cultivating high that nature was strictly dependant on quality crops including wine and the deity. Every event in nature was olive oil, measuring and dividing a sign sent by the deity to mankind, land, raising livestock, mastering the and the duty of latter was to interpret techniques of hydraulics and drainage, it, discover its meaning and act irrigating the fields, as well as excelling accordingly. in the arts and crafts, sports, and the The places where religious rites were renown of its name spread not only over... all the land of Italy, but the sea carried out had to be marked out, In the earliest times this was linked circumscribed and consecrated, to the notion (in common with while the times were regulated by other Mediterranean cultures) of the the succession of feast days and continuation of a kind of “active life” ceremonies inscribed in the sacred of the deceased in his tomb after death. calendars. In these rites there was This changed in the course of time to ample space for music and dancing, the concept of a “realm of the dead”. while the prayers might be intended The shades of the dead made a long for expiation, thanksgiving or descent into this lower world, destined entreaty. Different kinds of animal to dwell there for ever, perhaps even in (oxen, sheep, pigs or fowls) were the a state of happiness. This new concept victims of sacrifice according to the gave rise to an ancestor cult, and indeed circumstances; offerings included ancestors became the household gods. agricultural produce, wine, cakes and The “family tomb” thus became the other prepared foodstuffs. There was a sacred monument of the family lineage widespread custom of votive offerings, and its history. including “reproductions” of these in The most important small-scale place of the real thing, such as model works of art are highly original and animals, statues, models of temples show all the main characteristics of and so on. Etruscan figurative art in general. Their Among religious practices of particular terracotta and bronze figures represent importance was the cult of the dead. the outward and decorative element in from the Alps to as well, stretching devotional practices. In addition there In Tuscany, Etruscan places, their was a copious production of objects environments and necropolises, bear in carved ivory and bone (chiefly in splendid witness to this extraordinary the archaic and “oriental” period), civilization, well preserved in and of jewels cut in negative relief in archaeological sites and museums. semi-precious stones. Also of great importance was the production of ceramics, in particular the bucchero, which was to become the most characteristic of all Etruscan products. But it is in the line of jewellery that we find the most successful and original works of Etruscan craftsmanship, especially those dating from the mid- 7th to the end of the 6th century B.C. Painting in Etruria is found chiefly in tombs and funerary monuments. Ancient Etruria was centred on a confederation of twelve great Etruscan cities, which included Volterra, Populonia, Chiusi, Arezzo and Cortona. from the Alps to the Straits of Sicily. Titus Livius Itinerary Fiesole Florence Florence Fiesole A number of Etruscan communities Was a large city chiefly during the had certainly settled on the site of Hellenistic period, when it contained the present city of Florence as early vast temples and was protected by as the Villanovian period. The fertile a circuit of walls part of which may plains of the Arno were inhabited in still be seen. It had business relations very remote times, and the wealthy with the town of Volterra and boasted aristocracy had country houses here numerous fine ceramic workshops. and the great tumuli of their burial The archaeological area contains a places, such as the tombs of the reconstruction of the entrance to an Mula and the Montagnola at Quinto Etruscan tomb, the public baths, the Fiorentino. Etruscan walls and the ground-plan of The Museo Archeologico Nazionale a single-chambered Etruscan temple. in Florence houses numerous and In the Archaeological Museum are a valuable Etruscan finds from all over great number of finds dating from the Tuscany. It includes a section devoted Early Bronze Age to the Roman era. to the Attic ceramic works often found in Etruscan tombs. Among the outstanding works on display are: the stone cinerary statue, the sarcophagus of Larthia Seianti, the Chimaera of Arezzo, the sarcophagus of the Amazons, the sarcophagus of the Fat Man, the Orator and the François vase. Itinerary On the slopes of the Montalbano The Etruscan places to be found in and The Municipal Museum of Fuceccio around the area of the Montalbano also displays a number of Etruscan were in an ideal position to control the objects. trade routes which led from the port of Pisa to the plains of the lower Arno, Montelupo Fiorentino and thence diverged towards the Po The Archeological and Ceramic valley to the north and inland Etruria Museum, which houses Etruscan (Volterra, Chiusi) to the south. objects from the necropolis at La Falsettaia and the village of On the ground floor of the Montereggi. Villa Ferdinandea, the Museo Archeologico displays finds from the At Capraia e Limite the Museo excavations carried out at the ancient archeologico di Montereggi contains Etruscan settlement of Artimino. Of Etruscan remains. special interest is the black terracotta censor discovered in the entranceway Of special interest is a visit to the to Tumulus C at Prato Rosello. Area Archeologica di Pietramarina, a locality occupied by the Etruscans At Comeana the Tumulus of as early as the 7th century B.C.. Here Montefortini and the Tomba dei to be found is the Masso del Diavolo, Boschetti are both worth a visit. probably an ancient cult site. Larciano castello has a municipal museum containing Etruscan finds. itinerary From Volterra to the outskirts of Siena The Etruscan city of Volterra Certaldo (Velathri) stands on a hilltop in a fine A town of Etruscan origin, was the commanding position. The splendour birthplace of Giovanni Boccaccio. A of the city reached its peak at the section of the museum is devoted end of the Hellenistic period (2nd to to Etruscan and Roman objects 1st centuries B.C.), shortly before it discovered in the environs. became Romanized. The Museo Guarnacci houses one Capannoli of the most important Etruscan An archaeological documentary collections in all Italy. Among the display centre containing funerary items which visitors simply must see urns and objects, as well as the are the Kyathos, the stele of Avile reproduction of an Etruscan tomb Tite, the Lorenzini marble head, found at Montevaso. and the over 600 funerary urns in terracotta, tufa and alabaster. Among Terricciola the bronze statuettes is the famous The Etruscan necropolis of Terricciola Ombra della Sera (Shadow of the consisting of 16 tombs. Evening). The Etruscan-Roman necropolis is also of great interest. Montaione Museo Comunale containing The town of San Gimignano has archaeological, palaeontological, ancient Etruscan origins, even though mineral and fossil finds. it reached its peak during the period of the medieval Communes. A branch of the ancient Via Francigena passed through it. The Museo Archeologico houses both Etruscan-Roman and medieval material. Itinerary The Etruscan Coast Pisa and Populonia were the two great Piombino ports of southern Etruria. We find Museo Archeologico with a large other settlements on or near the coast collection of articles found in the at Castiglioncello, Vada, Cecina, Casale district and funerary objects from the Marittimo, Montescudaio, Volterra, tombs of Populonia. Piombino and Campiglia Marittima. Cecina Populonia Museo Archeologico containing Archaeological Park Etruscan finds. Special mention may be made of the exceptional objects from An especially rich archaeological area, the necropolis of Casale Marittimo, the situated in the gulf of Baratti, In the jewellery from Belora and the cinerary Etruscan and Roman eras it was of urn from Montescudaio. the first importance for the trading and working of iron from the mines Rosignano Marittimo on the island of Elba. The smelting An archaeological museum containing of hematite from Elba reached such funerary objects from various a pitch as to lead to the building of a necropolises, architectural fragments whole industrial zone, while the mass and grave goods. of slag ended up covering over a large part of the ancient burial grounds. Open to visitors are the necropolises of San Cerbone-Casone and Le Grotte, as well as the “acropolis” of Populonia.