For those not in the know, the Etruscans were a civilization that flourished in Italy before the foundation of Rome with whose people they merged. They developed advanced techniques of sculpture that influenced roman art and left many objects and works of art that can be seen today in some specialized museums in Rome.

And is on this museums where you can get acquainted with the Etruscans in a different way. A group of comic artists were invited to stay for a week in different Etruscan locations and now their works are on display on the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome and in the museums of Tarquinia and Cerveteri. The exhibit has been organized in suggestive ways to underline the themes that had an impact on the artists, placing the drawings near some of the objects that inspired them.

The exhibition will be open until October 25 2009 and it’s a great opportunity to be introduced to the Etruscans and to the solid tradition of comics authors in Italy.

The Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia (National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia) is located on piazzale di Villa Giulia 9. You can get there easily using the public transportation from Yes Hotel or Hotel Des Artistes. Stay with us and discover the beauty of Rome!

These two large Etruscan cemeteries reflect different types of burial practices from the 9th to the 1st century BC, and bear witness to the achievements of Etruscan culture. Wich over nine centuries developed the earliest urban civilization in the nothern Mediterranean.

Some of the tombs are monumental, cut in rock and topped by impressive tumuli (burial mounds). Many feature carvings on their walls, others have wall paintings of outstanding quality. The necropolis near Cerveteri, known as Banditaccia, contains thousands of tombs organized in a city-like plan, with streets, small squares and neighbourhoods.

This ancient etruscan  site contains very different types of tombs: trenches cut in rock; tumuli; and some, also carved in rock, in the shape of huts or houses with a wealth of structural details. These provide the only surviving evidence of Etruscan residential architecture. The necropolis of Tarquinia, also known as Monterozzi, contains 6,000 graves cut in the rock. It is famous for its 200 painted tombs, the earliest of which date from the 7th century BC.

Among the most important tombs, the Tomb of the Measurement of the fourth century a. C. with stucco that represent moments, animals and objects of everyday use. It ‘a single room with dividers, niches, pillars and clearly defined areas for burials.

The Tomb of Capitelli, the sixth century. A. C. is fully excavated in tuff with access and two small rooms plus a central rectangular room that presents, on the bottom, three rooms.

The Tomb of Shields and Chairs sees its own six beds with pillows carved into the tufa which were used for the deposition of bodies of men, because women were placed in boxes to sarcophagus. There are also two chairs back with stools on which were raised two terracotta statues.

The Tomb of Five Chairs resumed type internal furniture with chair and stool, here they are, indeed, on which five were many statues. These statues had the function to welcome the deceased into the presenziando with them to a banquet.
The Tomb dell’Alcova consists of a single room quadrangular and dates back to the fourth century a. C.

Those areas are in easy reach from Rome and you can make it a day trip outside Rome.

Since it is conveniently located from the train stations a hotel in Rome such as Yes Hotel Rome is ideal !

Read related blog on etruscan in Italy

What do you really know of the Etruscans? Maybe not all that much..? Well, then the place to go, when in Rome, is the Museo Etrusco of Villa Giulia, which houses many of the most significant archaeological findings on Etruscans.

Some of the most precious and interesting objects of the museum are the bilingual (Etruscan-phoenician) golden plates with an inscription dedicated to a goddess. Other main attractions are the contents of the so-called “Warrior’s tombâ€? (from the 6th century BC), the “Sarcophagus of the Spousesâ€? – a magnificent statue discovered in the Etruscan necropolis of Cerveteri and the famous statue of Apollo, the “Apollo of Veiiâ€?. This statue of the 6th century BC, representing Apollo with the tipical mysterious “Etruscan smile” on his lips used to adorn a temple in the Etruscan city of Veii and it is considered the greatest piece of Etruscan art conserved to our days.

The building itself is another object of interest: it was constructed in the 16th century for the humanist pope Julius III with the participance of for example Giorgio Vasari and Michelangelo and is a beautiful example of the manieristic architecture.

The museum of Villa Giulia is located in the area of Valle Giulia, and to get there you can take the trams 3 (from Trastevere or the metro B stops of “Colosseo� or “Piramide�) or the tram number 19 from Porta Maggiore. For additional information on the museum or to book your tickets on line, you can use the “Ticketeria�-service. At the museum you can rent an acoustic guide for an additional fee. Reduced tickets are available to European Union citicens under 25 years of age.

For more tourist information and hotel or tour reservations try this site.

Before the growth of the Roman Republic and then Empire, the area around Rome was inhabited by the Etruscans, who have left behind many signs of their highly evolved culture and society. Some of their heritage can be admired in Cerveteri, a small town that hosts a huge Etruscan necropolis with more than 400 tombs of the 8th-2nd century BC., disposed in the form of a “city of the dead�. The most interesting objects found in the tombs are now hosted in the Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome, but the necropolis is definitely worth seeing, being a beautiful enchanted place. To get there, take a bus from the metro-A station of Lepanto and then walk form the center of Cerveteri, which, by the way, is also worth visiting.

Another town of Etruscan origin, Viterbo, has a beautiful medieval old-town, mostly of 12th-14th century, and is known as the “City of Popes�, having offered refuge to many a medieval pope during the frequent political conflicts. Some of the main attractions are the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, tha Palazoo dei Papi, the Villa Lante di Bagniaia with its marvellous garden and of course the city center itself with its narrow streets and the atmosphere of times long gone. From Rome you can get to Viterbo by train: from Rome Termini or Ostiense stations it’ll take about an hour and a half.
Tivoli is yet another beautiful smalltown about 1 hour drive from Rome, with a COTRAL bus leaving from the metro-B Ponte Mammolo station. The ancient town, located on the Aniene river, was under the influence of Rome as early as 4th century BC, and flourished again in the Middle Ages, under Frederik Barbarossa. The main attraction today are the 16th century Villa d’Este of the cardinal d’Este, the Roman amphitheatre, the beautiful Villa Gregoriana with it’s waterfall, and the ruins of the ancient Villa Adriana, the palace of the emperor Hadrian, outside the city center.
If you want nothing too complicated and not too far away, you can always go to the sea: in the summer the whole city seems to move over to the beaches of Ostia, and in the winter time you can enjoy in peace and quiet the storming sea… And of course, the whole “Lungomare�, that is the road coasting the sea, is crowded with restaurants specialised in seafood! Going to Ostia couldn’t be easier: first take the metro line B to Piramide and then just switch for the train for “Lido di Ostia�. Get off at Ostia centro or Stella Polare and it’s just a few steps to the sea!

To do some exploring it’s good to stay in a centrally located hotel, such as the brand new Yes Hotel near the Termini station, or the already well-known Hotel or Hostel Des Artistes, both close to the station as well.