Tarquinia, Archaeological site in Province of Viterbo, Italy
Tarquinia is a small town in the Province of Viterbo in northern Lazio, around 90 kilometres northwest of Rome. The settlement sits on a hill above the Marta River valley, roughly seven kilometres from the Tyrrhenian Sea coast.
The Etruscans founded the city of Tárchuna here in the eighth century BC, which became one of the main centres of their culture. Rome conquered the area in the fourth century BC and turned the settlement into a Roman colony.
The large necropolis on the Monterozzi hill contains thousands of tombs cut into the tuff stone, with several hundred chambers showing wall paintings of banquets, dancers and athletes. Many visitors discover coloured scenes from daily Etruscan life painted directly onto the walls that remain visible today.
The National Museum in Palazzo Vitelleschi displays a large collection of Etruscan finds, including painted tomb slabs and pottery from the surrounding necropolises. Some of the tomb chambers with wall paintings are open to visitors, with access usually organised in small groups.
The Tomb of the Bulls, one of the oldest painted tombs in the necropolis, carries erotic depictions that are very rare in Etruscan funerary art. This chamber dates from the sixth century BC and is considered an early example of western wall painting.
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