Gordon: We left the Via Francigena for a couple of days to visit the UNESCO world heritage site at Tarquinia. This was an important Etruscan city and it has received it's UNESCO designation for the tombs that they left. What a treasure trove. Hundreds of tombs have been found in the area, and many have wall frescos.
A number of the tombs can be visited in an open air museum at the edge of town. From the road, the site appears to be a number of sheds scattered randomly over the landscape. However, each of these sheds covers a staircase that goes several meters underground to a chamber cut from the soft stone. The tombs date from the 7th to the 1st centuries B.C., and the frescos reflect the evolving ideas of the Etruscan afterlife during this period. The art is reminiscent of Minoan paintings that we have seen, and it was a great pleasure to be able to see them. The experience was enhanced by the fact that we were the only tourists on the site during our entire visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment