The
heritage
The modern-day town of Tarquinia, rich in medieval monuments,
is in the northern part of Lazio, about forty-five miles north-west
of Rome. One of the largest collections of Etruscan archaeological
finds belongs to the National Museum. Guided tours of the
painted tombs in the necropolises near the town also leave
from the museum. The
finds on display in the museum include: the sarcophagi; the
burial treasures found in the nearby necropolises, vases of
all types and origins, decorations belonging to the Ara Reginae
temple and a number of painted tombs, moved here to save them
from destruction.
The
history
The ancient city of Tarquinia (TarXna in Etruscan)
stood on the La Civita hill, close to the modern city. Very
little remains of the urban fabric of the city: the remains
of the solid walls of the 4th century BC, made of square blocks
of limestone and about five miles long, and the remains of
a temple of the first half of the 4th century BC known as
Ara Reginae. The importance of Tarquinia is shown by the legend
according to which the city was founded by Tarchon, the companion
of the mythical hero Tyrrhenus, the ancestor of the Etruscans.
Until the beginning of the 6th century BC, the city was a
centre of secondary importance. From then onwards, thanks
to the intensification of trading contacts with Greece, it
grew in importance until it became one of the main cities
of the Etruscan league in the 4th century BC. Between the
end of the 4th century and the beginning of the 3rd century
BC, Tarquinia, at the height of its power, came into conflict
on several occasions with Rome. Defeated in these wars (261
BC), it had to relinquish its coastal dominions, including
its port, a few miles from the city itself. This marked the
beginning of a decline for Tarquinia which was to be unstoppable.
The
archaeological areas
The necropolis of Monterozzi
The
necropolis of Monterozzi lies just over two miles to the east
of the modern city of Tarquinia. It is famous for the marvellous
paintings of its frescoed tombs, which represent one of the
greatest examples of pictorial art in the ancient world. Today
the location of more than one hundred and fifty painted tombs
are known, but only a small number of these can be visited.
In
the first phase of the history of Tarquinia, the tombs are
mainly of the tumulus or sarcophagus type, that is, covered
with slabs of limestone. The period of frescoed tombs began
in the second half of the 6th century BC, with the economic
development. These tombs typically have a corridor of access
with steps carved in the side of the hill, leading to a large
rectangular chamber, where the bodies of the dead were placed.
The walls and ceiling are decorated with paintings in which
a large variety of themes inspired by daily life can be found:
banquets, dancers and musicians, scenes of athletes or gladiators,
funeral processions and so on.
The
Ara Reginae temple
On the site of the city, the remains of a sacred area,
called "Ara Reginae", dating back to the first half
of the 4th century BC have been found. This is a temple with
a rectangular floor plan with a chamber divided into three
parts, flanked by two wings and preceded by a frontal portico
closed by two rows of columns. Part of the decorations and
fragments of inscriptions on the life of the temple priests
can be found in the museum of Tarquinia. The most important
piece that has come down to us is a polychrome group in high
relief that probably decorated the fronton of the temple,
showing two winged horses of splendid workmanship harnessed
to the shaft of a chariot.
|