On the rails again

The Etruscan heritage

Before the Romans consolidated their rule over the whole of Italy the Etruscans controlled Corsica and big parts of Northern Italy between the Po river plain and Campania in the South. The Etruscan civilization was a federation of city states called Etruria with a common language and religion. In 500 BC, when the Roman kingdom became a republic, Rome was at the southern edge of the Etruscan territory which covered approximately the present regions of Tuscany and Umbria and the northern part of Lazio.

Decoration on Etruscan pottery based on Greek models

Legend has it that in the period between 600 BC and 500 BC an alliance formed among 12 Etruscan settlements, known today as the Etruscan League or Dodecapolis. These cities were Arretium (Arezzo), Caisra (Cerveteri), Clevsin (Chiusi), Curtun (Cortona), Perusna (Perugia), Pupluna (Populonia Alta/Piombino), Veii, Tarchna (Tarquinia), Vetluna, Volterra, Velzna (Bolsena), and Velch (Vulci).

Etruscan pottery

The Etruscans exploited the mineral and agricultural wealth of their territory. Copper and iron ore was mined and tools and weapons produced from the metal. Trade with the Celts in the north and the Greeks in the south made elite Etruscan families very rich. Large family tombs were filled with luxuries. One of the important Etruscan cities was Tarquinia. Today the town in home to a big and well preserved necropolis and one of the best archaeological musea with Etruscan artifacts. Going there from Genoa by train also follows the coast controlled by the Etruscans in the preroman times.

Genoa Piazza Principe

Unfortunately the station of Tarquinia is 3 km from the center of the old city. Google shows that there are a couple of busses which should link the town, the station and the beach. However, the service seems to be irregular and therefore I decide to book a reservation for an intercity to arrive in time. On its way to Roma Termini IC 505 takes this route between Genoa and Grosseto. In Grosseto there is plenty of time to catch a connecting train which stops at Tarquinia. Unfortunately, the day before departure the reservation tool only allows me to make a reservation after Sestri Levante. I will have to take a local train first and then change to the intercity there. By using the Intercity for part of the way I am in Tarquinia several hours earlier and avoid a couple of additional changes.

Typical suburban train in Genoa

Since the local train leaves Genoa at 8.14 and breakfast in the hotel starts at 8 I thought of buying a coffee and snack in the station before departure. However, when I come down to the reception at 7.30 to hand in my key the friendly guy tells me that I can have breakfast right now. I hardly have time to sit down before he appears with two hard boiled eggs and a cappuccino.

The Ligurian coast between Genoa and Sestri Levante

In the station the departure of train 4131 to Sestri Levante is announced for track 13. I install myself on the platform and wait for the train while more and more other passengers arrive. Then happens what will turn out to be a routine exercise imposed by the FS on their passengers: the departure track is changed a few minutes before the actual departure. Here it is changed to track 14, which means that everybody has to use the underpass to go to the new platform. Time is too short to wait for the elevator, so I heave my heavy bag down the stairs and up again for track 14, where I arrive just with the incoming train.

Well maintained station of Recco

Covered in sweat I take a seat in the upper compartment of the double-deck train. In the old trains the distribution of the corresponded to the windows. Every bench therefore had a window. And, of course it could be opened. In the modern trains the grouping of the seats does not correspond to the windows any more. In a full train you have the chance to end up in a seat where you only see the wall. And if you have a window it usually is filthy. Most of the people don’t mind since they prefer to look at a screen anyway.

Local train in the station of Sestri Levante

Like most of the local trains this one is rather empty and I can select a perfect spot for sight-seeing, a relatively clean window with sea-side view. Although Genoa is an industrial center and big sea port the suburbs offer charming resorts and a scenic, mountainous coast line with little coves and beautiful beaches. However, the view is a bit affected by my apprehension to miss the connection. The layover time in Sestri Levante is only 10 minutes and we are running late. No explanation is given but the reason seems to be that the train is diverted to the other track to let a faster freight train pass. I am wary that the next train passing on the other track will be the IC.

Local train to La Specia in Sestri Levante

In Sestri Levante we stop at a dead end track far out at the northern end of the platforms. The whole train full of beach goers empties onto the platform and the mass moves forward with unnerving slowness. Of course my preoccupation is unnecessary. When I arrive at the timetable display a delay of 15 minutes is announced for IC 505.

Local train to La Specia in Sestri Levante

One of the positive aspects of train travel in Italy is the presence of helpful staff in almost each station, also in Sestri Levante. A woman asks me where I want to go and sends me to track 3 for the delayed departure of IC 505. The track is not announced on the display yet. I hope that for once she is right …

Waiting for IC 505

Another bonus of Italian stations is that most have a toilet. They are usually open and for free. The reason might be that many a station and all of the bigger ones have a cafe where you can spend the waiting hours and have an espresso, snacks or a drink.

IC 505 entering Sestri Levante

Then I proceed to track 3. There is an elevator on track 1, but not on track 3. Again I realize how uncomfortable a roller case is. But at least this time the train arrives on the announced track. My seat, after I eventually find it, is in the almost empty first carriage. The rest of the train is almost full.

The Ligurian coast seen from a dirty train window

Unfortunately on this train I don’t have a window seat and no seaside view. Therefore, between all those tunnels I only get a very vague glimpse of the pittoreque villages of Cinque Terre. In La Spezia I am joined by an American couple from Colorado. They had been in Cinque Terre and now continue to Civitavecchia, where they join a cruise to Portugal for a week. In Massa Maritima we get another travel companion, an Englishman. He is a veterinarian, working in London but living in the Algarve in Portugal. The cheap flights make it possible that he can go there every weekend.

La Spezia Centrale

We have an entertaining trip together. After they have set their phones on airplane mode the Americans also dare to comment about the political situation. They are afraid that the phones record conversations which are then searched by keywords for critical content.

Arrival in Grosseto

I don’t care that we arrive in Grosseto slightly delayed…. I have to wait there for more than an hour for the connecting train anyway. When the locale bound for Roma termini finally arrives I am joined by a nervous guy who clearly is not used to riding a train. In short intervals he keeps asking whether this train is bound for Montalto de Casto, one stop before Tarquinia, and how far we still have to go. When he finally leaves he extends his hand and thanks profusely. I think he is from northern Africa.

The station of Grosseto

Meanwhile I have called the hotel and asked whether they can pick me up at the station. However, they recommend to take the bus. There is a bus stop right at the exit of the well-kept station building and somebody is waiting there. He confirms that a bus should arrive in 5 minutes and cost us 1 €. The bus driver also is helpful, asks for the name of my hotel and warns me when to get off.

RV Regionale Veloce from Pisa to Rome arriving in Grosseto

After the early arrival there is plenty of time to visit the remains of the necropole in Tarquinia. The Necropole is past the old center on the on a mountain top. The hotel is at its base. But I am lucky. Just after I have left the hotel and pass the bus stop a microbus arrives. I give him my last Euro and can avoid walking up to the center of town. From there it is another long walk to the entrance of the Necopole to the east. The signs for walking in Tarquinia not only give the time needed to come to the destination but also the calories spent. I think that both time (10 min) and calories (61 cal) is far underestimatimg this walk along the outskirts of the otherwise pretty town.

The old town of Tarquinia

The Etruscans used to build their towns on hills, the steeper the slopes the better. The antecedent of Tarquinia was not on the site of the present town but on the neighboring hilltop inland. Excavations have produced few relics of the ancient town itself. The remains of the foundations of an Etruscan temple, ara de regina, have been excavated. The Necropolis had been built on the next hill which now is occupied by the medieval town of Tarquinia.

The Necropole de Monterozzi

From the 9th – 2th century BC subterranean tombs were built from blocks of rock or carved from the rock. Tombs usually had one or several chambers connected to the outside world by a passageway. Frequently one or several of the graves were covered under a conical mound called tumulus. To facilitate fieldwork the farmers leveled the mounds. Originally the necropole de Monterozzi contained some 2000, maybe 7000 graves. It is a miracle that of these 200 have survived and are still accessible and 100 still have some of their colorful decorations. Most excavations were carried out in the 1960ies. Since the tumuli were completely gone the entrances had to be protected with a little contemporary entrance building.

The urns from fire burial found in shaft graves

In the 8th - 6th century BC when fire burial was still practiced urns were kept in shaft graves. For Later the tombs contained sarcophagi usually with the image of the deceased on the lid. They were deposited on rock-carved benches or against the walls. Probably all kinds of donations like painted ceramics, bronze mirrors, gold jewelry, and weapons were left in the graves, meant to accompany the dead into the afterlife. The rich Etruscan aristocracy was able to import these luxury items from Greek and other eastern civilizations.

The original design of the tumuli

However, many of the graves were sacked by robbers a long time ago. Since they did not know where the passageways of the entrance were they dug tunnels and broke through the walls to get in. As a result the fresco decoration of the wall was destroyed. Most of the gifts in the graves were gone when the excavations started. Some of the sites were vandalized as late as after the second world war. One fresco in a chamber lost the head of the image of a girl in the 1960. The painted piece of plaster was later found back in a German museum.

Tomb of the juggler 510 BC

I have picked a good day and time. There are few other visitors. Access to the graves still involves stumbling down narrow corridors. To protect the paintings not only from vandalism, but also from greasy hands and the influence of moisture from breath all the sites are protected with thick glass doors. It takes me a while to figure out that you have to find and press a button to get the interior illuminated for a short period. But even standing in front of the glass is quite uncomfortable since there is little space and the steps in front of the glass are uneven. In popular weekend days with big crowds from tour buses it involves a long waiting time until it is your turn to stand at the glass and press the button.

Tomb of the maiden 420-400 BC

Only the rich aristocratic class could afford the luxury of dwellings for the Afterlife and their lavish decoration. The painted tombs of the necropolis not only represent the state of Etruscan pictorial art but they also allow to assess the development of Etruscans' quotidian life, ceremonies, and mythology at the time. The architecture of the graves is seen as a model for the houses the Etruscans lived in. In contrast to for example later christian painting there is no sign of grief in the decoration of the graves. In fact, the Etruscans were quite frivolous. Scenes in the frescoes include orgiastic dances, coital scenes and naked servants. Later the Romans were much more prudish in their depictions, and even more so, of course, the Christians.

Tomb of the hunter 510-500 BC

The oldest tombs of the late 7th to mid-6th centuries B.C. have a single rectangular room with a double-sloping ceiling intended only for the marital couple (pater and mater familias). Color first only emphasized the architectural elements, after 530 BC figurative decoration gradually appears with animals in heraldic patterns on the pediments of the court walls, later extended to all walls with scenes of hunts, dances, banquets, and games.

Bartoccini tomb 530-520 BC

Many of the tombs of the Orientalizing and Archaic periods, such as the tomb of the Leopards were painted by Greek painters or at least foreign artists. These images therefore have a very limited value for a realistic representation of the Etruscan population

Tomb of the little flowers 450 BC

During the 5th century BC an socio-economic crisis in Etruria effected the tombs in Tarquinia. The stylistic quality declined and the motifs limited to banquet scenes. A new concept of death appeared. Afterlife became populated by monstrous demons and characters from Greek mythology. During a revival in the 4th century the rooms assume grandiose dimensions with pillars supporting the flat ceiling and the burial chamber accommodate the entire noble clan; the scenes now take place only in the Underworld in the presence of death demons. With the appearance of the Romans between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC the number of painted tombs drastically decreased and only a few examples were found.

Tomb of the charuns 250-275 BC

The tomb of the lioness from 520 BC consists of a single chamber with a ceiling with double slope which is accessed through a stepped corridor (dromos). The ceiling is decorated with a checkerboard pattern and the walls are punctuated with six columns, so as to give the interior the character of a pavilion. On the pediment of the back wall there are two spotted lionesses facing each other who give the tomb its name. Other scenes show dolphins are depicted diving and aquatic birds. The

scene culminates in the representation of the large central crater (for mixing wine and water) around which a lively dance takes place.

The tomb of hunting and fishing

The tomb of hunting and fishing has two rooms in line, with a double-sloping ceiling and stepped access corridor (dromos). In the pediment at the bottom of the first chamber shows a scene of returning from hunting with horsemen accompanied by servants; in the entrance pediment, a banquet scene; on the walls, in a grove of laurels with bandages and crowns, an orgiastic dance (komos). In the pediment of the second burial chamber a pair at a banquet is surrounded by servants. The walls show hunting and fishing scenes and a naked young man diving into the sea from a large cliff, a metaphor for the passage from life to death. This grave, dating from 520 - 510 BC, was discovered 1873.

The tomb of the Bacchae

The tomb of the Bacchae is a small chamber tomb with a double-sloping roof accessed by a short, stepped corridor. The ceiling is painted with rosettes, ivy leaves and small flowers. On the gable of the back wall there are two groups of fighting animals. The frieze depicts a scene of orgiastic dancing connected to Dionysus, possibly including the tomb's patron and his wife holding wine cups. The decoration probably was painted by immigrant Eastern-Greek artists in 510-500 BC.

The tomb of the leopards

The tomb of the leopards discovered in 1875 consists of a single chamber with a double slope ceiling roof which is accessed through a stepped corridor (dromos). It was built in 470 BC. The ceiling is decorated in a checkerboard pattern on the slopes and concentric circles on the central beam (columen). The paintings is of modest quality with disproportioned characters with rigid movements. On the back pediment, on either side of a small tree, the two leopards that give the tomb its name face each other. On the back wall there is a scene of a symposium in which men and women take part, stretched out on convivial beds (klinai) and served by young naked servants. A procession of musicians, painted on the right wall, and servants with pottery on the left wall converge towards this scene.

The tomb of the blue demons

The tomb of the blue demons has a long and deep entrance corridor (dromos) that leads to a single room with a rectangular, flat floor and gable ceiling with a relief central roof beam (columen). On the floor, in the left front corner, there is a large shaft. The painted decoration is not well preserved. The owner of the tomb is depicted on a chariot with two horses, together with dancers and musicians. In front of the procession is a table with plates and cups (kylikeion), while on the front wall there are four couples (mainly men) laying and banqueting on beds. The central couple likely represent the founder of the tomb and his wife. The scene on the right wall is the most remarkable. It represents the afterlife with the figure of Charon (guardian of the afterlife), who on a reddish boat maneuvered with a long oar is ferrying souls on the Acheron River. A covered woman and a young boy just arrived are greeted by an ancestor woman, which is grabbed on the left by a blue and on the right by a winged brownish demon. The tomb built in 420 - 410 BC and discovered in as late as 1985 belongs to the period of passage between the archaic ideology of death linked to the symposium on the left and the classical interpretation with the idea of an underworld full of infernal demons on the right painted for the first time here.

The tomb of two roofs

The tomb of two roofs built in 250-200 BC is an example of a late tomb. In 1969 the discoverers found a chamber with a flat ceiling, a central pillar and benches along the walls with excavated burial pits. The painted decoration is limited to the central pillar and the right wall. The column portrays a large winged Charun (guardian of the afterlife) with snake-like hair and holding a hammer. On the right wall a miniaturistic frieze represents a farewell scene relating to the deceased buried in the pit below, and is preceded by a boy and accompanied by Vanth, a female demon of death, who lights up the dark path to the afterlife with her torch. The dead man arrives in front of the door of Hades guarded by Charun sitting on a rock, where the already deceased family members welcome the deceased.

The Charun

The site of the necropolis offers a sweeping view of the surrounding countryside. The rolling hills of Tuscany and Lazio are dotted with isolated old-fashioned farms. Only few trees are left on the barren slopes. In the valley below the hill remain the ruins of a half abandoned olive oil factory. For once it is quiet here. No sounds from combustion engines or mobile phones, only the rustling of grass and leaves in the wind and the chirping of birds.

The rolling hills around Tarquinia with an olive oil factory in the valley

The Etruscan graves date from the 7th to 3th century BC. It is not exactly clear when the Etruscan rule in Tarquinia was replaced by the Romans. From the first half of the 5th century BC, the new political situation meant the beginning of the Etruscan decline when their southern provinces were lost. Beginning in the late 4th century BC, during the Roman–Etruscan Wars, the Etruscans succumbed to the expanding Romans. Etruscans were granted Roman citizenship in 90 BC, and by 27 BC the whole Etruscan territory was incorporated into the newly established Roman Empire. Probably for strategic reasons, the original site of Tarquinia was slowly abandoned and finally completely given up around 1300 AD. It was replaced by the rise of the current medieval town named Corneto in a more favorable location.

Countryside around Tarquinia

Corneto became an independent city-state in 1144, forming alliances with Genoa, Pisa, and Venice. In 1355, the Pope installed Egidio Albornoz as ruler, who incorporated the city into the Papal States. After that it remained a politically insignificant provincial town.

Procession in the town square of Tarquinia

When I come back into the old town center I hear the sound of a brass band. In a procession an image of the virgin is carried down the streets to the central market square, followed by priests, the honorariums of the town, a blend of residents of all ages and the watchful eyes of the different police organs. At the market place a couple of speeches are held which give the listeners the opportunity to consult their mobile phones.

Towers and ...

...arches of Tarquinia

I immediately have a liking for Tarquinia. Its walled old town is virtually untouched by modernization. Tower houses rise above the medieval buildings. Arches bridge the narrow alleys and old gates give access to the interior of the mansions and decorated gardens. There are plenty of good restaurants, a popular ice cream parlor and in the evening the residents meet for a chat on the squares or on the benches in the parks along the ramparts which offer a wide view of the surrounding countryside.

City gate

The old town is a restricted zone limited to pedestrians. There is still a lot of traffic of the locals and as always there is a madman on a motorcycle who has to ride his rounds with a deafening noise to proof to everybody that even this place has its proper idiot.

Some of the many towers

The old town of Tarquinia still is surrounded with most of its medieval city wall including many of the gates. At the porta de Castello a young, friendly but and bored chap sells entrance tickets. Visitors can climb up to the city wall, cross above the gate and look down onto the city from the torrione Matilda de Canossa. There are no other visitors.

Porta de Castello

Outside the walls is the church of Santa Maria de Castello, a roman church made beautiful by its simplicity. Unfortunately it is only open on Sundays between 10 and 13 o'clock. Next to it another gate after which the narrow, winding road disappears in the quiet, empty countryside below.

Santa Maria de Castello

At the porta della Maddalena an old woman talks to me. It turns out that we can use French as a common language. She asks whether I have noticed the hinges at the gate. She recommends to visit the church and cloister of the Monastero S. Lucia Benedettine. Again, unfortunately, it is closed. Most visitors to Tarquinia come in the weekends and only then many sights are open.

Palazzo Vitelleschi

At the entrance of the medieval town is Palazzo Vitelleschi. It was built between 1436 and 1439 during Eugene IV's pontificate for Cardinal Giovanni Vitelleschi in the Catalan Gothic style, with Renaissance additions. The cardinal was more a military commander than a priest. He didn’t have a lot of time to enjoy his new residence. He was murdered in Rome in 1440. Later the palace was used by the popes as stopover accommodation when they traveled across their state.

Cardinal Giovanni Vitelleschi

The palace houses the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Tarquinia which contains numerous Etruscan artifacts, many from excavations in Tarquinia. For a long time I am obliged to follow a school class of French teenagers who try hard to show some interest in the detailed monologue of a guide. For their age they behave well and I get a bit of background information for the exhibits.

Inside Palazzo Vitelleschi

Most remarkable exhibit of the museum are the "Tarquinia Winged Horses". The terracotta sculpture is a fragment of the colonnade that supported the pediment of the temple Ara della Regina found at the excavations of the ancient Etruscan site of the town. Again it is astounding that a terracotta sculpture of the 4 century BC has survived in the ground for such a long time in such a brilliant state.

Tarquinia Winged Horses

The museum also has a great collection of the sarcophagi which originally held the remains in the tombs of the necropole. The abundance of different exhibits shows the development of the decorations on the sarcophagi and the lids which usually were decorated with a representation of the deceased.

Decoration of an Etruscan sarcophage

The museum also shows the development of the terracotta pottery and the incredible variety of shapes. The oldest pieces date back to the 10. century BC. Pottery originally came from Greece and the Greek colonies in southern Italy.

Terracotta pottery

The museum also shows some exhibits with letters in Etruscan writing. The earliest known examples are inscriptions found in southern Etruria that date to around 700 BC. The Etruscan system of writing derived from the Euboean alphabet, which was used in the Magna Graecia coastal areas in Southern Italy. It is one of the world’s forgotten writings, caused by the scarcity of preserved texts. The language remains only partly understood. Therefore the knowledge of Etruscan society and culture is heavily dependent on much later and generally disapproving Roman and Greek sources.

Etruscan writing

Among the numerous little exhibits is also what is left of what must have been the world’s first parasol, the skeleton of ribs which must have been covered with hide or fabric.

Etruscan umbrella

Many Italian towns have a stark contrast between the beauty of their medieval town centers, which from their prominent positions on a hill look down haughtily on the newly built and incredibly awful suburbs. This is not different in Tarquinia. It shares the ugliness of the modern housing developments, consumer and builder’s markets with huge parking lots, dirty green spaces, hideous architecture without a common style and the lack of a consistent city planning. Main attraction is a graffiti covered fighter jet displayed in one of the neglected parks. What a decline for a nation which has such a legacy in arts, culture and history.

Suburban Tarquinia

My hotel is a pleasant island in the middle of this ugliness. It contributes to the mess by an addition located in a modern apartment block which rises over the surrounding of faceless little businesses, bleak concrete yards and urban wasteland. However, the staff is very friendly and helpful, they have a good restaurant playing music loud enough to make any conversation unnecessary and the breakfast served for an additional 5 € is a real deal. There, for the first time I learn about the existence of a guillotine for eggs, a little device designed to be put on the top of a boiled egg to open it by breaking the shell in a neat line around the perimeter.

Guillotine for boiled eggs

The other rarity is an inclined plate on which an entire honeycomb rests. The honey slowly oozes out and collects underneath in a receptacle.

Honey separator

The breakfast room is beleaguered by an American group who have stayed here tonight in expectancy for their boarding of a cruise in Civitavecchia today. There is a young mother and teenage father with little baby, archetypal baseball cap and shorts. A lady from Alaska asks me whether the color of the juices tells anything about their taste.

Playground in suburban Tarquinia

The only other guests are a french couple, he busy on his laptop, and a couple of German woman reading a newspaper. Their faces clearly show their displeasure at not being alone here.

Belfries and towers of Tarquinia

The narrow alleys of Tarquinia

The Americans neither have visited the necropolis nor did they have time for a walk to the old town above. Together with an amazing amount of luggage they board a little transfer bus to the cruise port in Civitavecchia the hotel provides for these purposes. Unfortunately they don’t offer any transfer to the station. It is close enough to take the bus. The friendly person at the reception looks for the schedule, which is neither published on Google nor at the stop.

Passages and gates...

... in the narrow alleys of old town Tarquinia

So I proceed to the bus stop with my luggage. As usual it the most gloomy spot in town. There is no information, no shelter and no seat. Traffic rushes by without goal, some seem to pass several times while I wait for my bus to the station. A girl cycles up the hill on a mountain bike disseminating loud music from a speaker. After a couple of minutes she comes back down again.

The beauty of a bus stop

An old man waits next to me at the stop. A car stops in the middle of the road, the window opens, they have a little chat. Others wait patiently behind until they are finished. Then there indeed my bus arrives.