Etruscans visited

Saturday February 8, 2014

Well today is our last full day in Rome, and there is one final museum I want to visit.  It is the National Museum of Etruscan Art.  I have been fascinated by the art of the Etruscans ever since I first read about them about 12 years ago.  The Etruscans were the ancient Italians, some say as early as 1100 BC, but most certainly from 800 BC to about 300 BC.  They were centered mainly in Tuscany and Umbria.  They were a fairly wealthy civilization, as they were miners, working with iron and copper.  Because of this wealth they left a substantial record of their existence.  Most of it was recovered/liberated when tombs were found especially in the early 1800's.  Like the Egyptian, Mayans and other  great cultures, their dead were buried with all manner of worldly good to help them in their journey to the next world.  We had been to two of these burial sites in Cerverteri and Tarquinna, when we were last here, but unfortunately there was little left of artifacts there.  Unlike the Egyptians, the Etruscans had a more family orientated structure, with many different family members, from different generations being entombed in the same burial mound.  It was great to be able to see what had been found in those sites and others.

The artifacts were beautiful and plentiful, but unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside the museum.  It is incredible the intricacy and delicateness that was able to be achieved at that time.  We were only allowed to take pictures in the outside grounds.  I was very disappointed, because I am sure, no I know,  I would have exhausted my camera battery snapping pics!  I have gleaned a few pic from the Internet to give you an idea of what I saw.

This is an aerial view of Cerverteri showing the burial mounds

Burial mounds

 

Burial mounds

Some of the things seen in the museum

A couple of outside shots

subterranean spot that would be cool in a hot Roman summer - there were at least 12 small
 fountains in the center area along with the two large fountains on either side at the back

Giving us the "squinty cat eye"