The Etruscans
    Overview
    Some dates
    Archaeological sites
    Museums
    Etruscan Art
    Coinage
    Language and Writing

While the Renaissance rediscovered the Greek and Roman artworks, people found, on the territory of the Medici, statues from a civilization that looked quite original. The finds from the tombs at Vulci, Volterra, Tarquinia first enriched the collections of the Medici, but they were also a politic chance for them: the Medici could pretend themselves being the successors of the Etruscan kings.

In the eighteenth century, the Etruscans did not stay aside from the fascination ancient civilizations exerted, and tombs were included in the romantic "grand tour". Visitors then developed a passion for the tombs’ frescoes and the treasures they contained. However, Italy stayed susceptible to this magnificence, and dit not allow strangers to plunder them like it happened in Egypt. As a first consequence, most of the Etruscan artworks are now to visit on the ancient Etruscan territory, often in museums located at the very place of their discovery. And also in Rome, of course.

The greatest museums of the world did their best to acquire some etruscan items, but overall their collections remain relatively small: the etruscan collection of the Louvre, as wonderful as it is, occupies only three rooms.

And now, you can also discover many items on the Etruscan "virtual museums".

Attached to their history, the Tuscans also sat up archaeological parks displaying architectural and historical reconstructions.

 Virtual museums     

Virtual museums are under progress, such as the Cineca Virtual Museum of Certosa di Bologna and the Etruscanning project

In addition to the didactic presentation of remains, some museums built up reconstructions of Etruscan tombs, like the

• National Archaeological Museum in Tarquinia : Tombe des Léopards, Tomb of the Leopards, Tomb of the chariot, Tomb of the Triclinium, Tomb of the Olympic games. They intend to present the original context of frescoes which were detached and displayed in showrooms.
• National Archaeological Museum of Umbria, in Perugia: reconstruction of a family tomb with some original elements.
• National Archaeological Museum in Chianciano Terme, many canopic tombs reconstructed from their original funerary artworks.
• Museum Guarnacci in Volterra : several scenographic displays of remains.
• City’s Archaeological Museum of Sarteano : ra precise reconstitution of the Tomba della quadriga infernal.

or monuments:

• Etruscan temple at the Villa Giulia Museum.

 On the Etruscan territory    

More details ? About 80 museums are located on our Satellite view Map.  Elsewhere in Italy     Carmignano  Museo Archeologico Comunale di Artimino “Francesco Nicosia” Milan  Museo Archeologico Palerme  Museo archeologico regionale Antonio Salinas Pavie  Museo Archeologico e Sala Longobarda -  Museo di Archeologia dell'Università di Pavia Turin  Museo di Antichità  French museums      French archaeological museums are mentionned on our website in the section "museums and sites", which displays an interactive map and an alphabetical list by city name. The list below is extracted from this last one, mentionning only museums that display Etruscan collections. Avignon (84000)  Musée lapidaire Bourges (18000)  Musée du Berry Cahors (46000)  Musée de Cahors - Henri Martin Château-Gontier (53204)  Musée d'Art et d'Archéologie Hôtel Fouquet Grenoble (38000)  Musée de Grenoble Lille (59000)  Musée des Beaux-Arts Marseille (13002)  Musée des Docks Romains Marseille (13002)  Musée d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne Nantes (44000)  Musée départemental Dobrée Nîmes (30000)  Musée Archéologique Nissan-lez-Ensérune (34440)  Site archéologique et musée d'Ensérune Paris (75001)  Musée du Louvre Péronne (80201)  Musée Alfred Danicourt Rennes (35000)  Musée des Beaux-Arts Saint-Omer (62500)  Musée de l'Hôtel Sandelin  Other world’s museums      Australia  Nicholson Museum. University of Sydney , Sydney Belgium  Musée du Cinquantenaire , Bruxelles Danemark  Nationalmuseet Copenhagen , Copenhagen  Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek , Copenhagen Germany  Akademisches Kunstmuseum - Antikensammlung der Universität Bonn , Bonn  Museum fuer Kunst und Gewerbe , Hamburg  Kestner-Museum , Hannover  Landesmuseum , Stuttgart Netherlands  Allard Pierson Museum, Universiteit van Amsterdam , Amsterdam Russia  The Hermitage Museum , Saint Petersburg United Kingdom  British Museum , London USA  Metropolitan museum , New-York  Penn Museum , Philadelphia  Museum of fine arts , Boston  Museum of art , Cleveland  The Field Museum , Chicago