The finest Etruscan paintings, in underground chambers
Tarquinia, ancient Tarch(u)na, was one of the most powerful cities of Etruria, and according to tradition the homeland of the Tarquins, the Etruscan kings of Rome. Its Monterozzi necropolis, on a hill facing the sea, contains about six thousand tombs, around two hundred of them painted: the largest collection of ancient paintings before Roman times in the Mediterranean, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Cerveteri.
Down short staircases you reach chambers decorated with brilliant colours: banquets with couples reclining, dancers and musicians, athletes, hunting and fishing scenes, as in the Tomb of the Leopards, the Tomb of the Lionesses and the Tomb of Hunting and Fishing, with dolphins and birds. In the town, the National Archaeological Museum in Palazzo Vitelleschi displays the famous terracotta Winged Horses, as well as sarcophagi and Greek vases.
Tip: about twenty tombs are open in rotation, viewed through glass; the medieval town centre, with its towers, is also lovely. The beaches of the Lido di Tarquinia are nearby.
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