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Our little Fiat Panda Hybrid that runs pretty much on air. Very comfortable, 6 speed, air conditioning and a great flat screen I doubt I will ever figure out!
The museum is filled with the sarcophagi of many of the town's richest landowners. All had servants that were represented naked. I could use a couple of those these days. It's just that you don't see many naked people anymore.
Tarquinia is also the site of the Etruscan Necropolis with their underground tombs. The museum as well as the necropolis if filled with sarcophagi from 400 BCE. The undground tombs were discovered, exvated and the remains removed. You can now tour the site. All tombs are covered with a small building that contains stairs down to the tombs. The walls are painted with figures and designs, all of which relate a story. The condition of the site is not what we had expected. The tombs below have a glass door that is supposed to hermitically seal the tomb to preserve the paintings. However, we came across several that had humidity covering the glass and you could feel air passing through the door frames. Sad to see that a site has a title such as a World Heritage Site but it is not being well maintained.
The remains in the tombs are of the rich and noble. The tops of the sarcophagi are covered with a statue in a lounging position of the dead person. Too much to investigate but I wonder what was inside the sarcophagus? Were the bodies laid to rest on a mattress or material? You can see the hole in the end of the slope for fluids to escape and what type of preparation did the body have? I only wonder becuase someone had to dig the tomb and I'm sure the body was there. Or, maybe it was somewhere else and decomposing during that period. A bit morbid, but it peaked my curiosity.
We had some good eats both at home and out. We ate at Al Pachino, not to be confused with the actor but with the Pachino, small cherry type tomatoes from Sicily. The food was excellent and a wide variety to choose from. After Rome, I pretty much was full of bread and here we had the opportunity to taste eggplant parmesan, Italian roasted chicken in herbs, some great grilled potatoes and a small lasagna topped off with a glass of chianti.
We headed out the next morning to Vicopisano 20 minutes east of Pisa. Time to do some leaning! I apolgize for the disjointed blog post but it seems we are always on the go. There is so much to share and talk about; art, history, culture, food, current life styles of Italians and more.
A trip on the toll highway. It was about 75 km and cost 5 Euros. What do you think? It's a bit expensive.
It was a fun drive to Tarquinia. We could have easily stayed there a week and not seen everything. Tarquinia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is know for the home of Vitelleschi now a national museum. It was built in the 1500s for the Cardinal de Corneto and then used as a stopover for various popes.
The house the famous cardinal lived in and is now a national museum.
The city dates back 3000 years and is home to the Etruscans who were later conquered by the Romans.
The museum is filled with the sarcophagi of many of the town's richest landowners. All had servants that were represented naked. I could use a couple of those these days. It's just that you don't see many naked people anymore.
All societies since the beginning of time have imported workers. These are examples of Greek vase painting which was well-sought after as a symbol of wealth. Some, as listed in the description below, would go on to be famous forever.
Tarquinia is also the site of the Etruscan Necropolis with their underground tombs. The museum as well as the necropolis if filled with sarcophagi from 400 BCE. The undground tombs were discovered, exvated and the remains removed. You can now tour the site. All tombs are covered with a small building that contains stairs down to the tombs. The walls are painted with figures and designs, all of which relate a story. The condition of the site is not what we had expected. The tombs below have a glass door that is supposed to hermitically seal the tomb to preserve the paintings. However, we came across several that had humidity covering the glass and you could feel air passing through the door frames. Sad to see that a site has a title such as a World Heritage Site but it is not being well maintained.
The blue paint used in the mural above tells us that this person or family was very rich. The materials need to make blue paint prior to 1 BCE were very difficult to extract and came from mines in Egypt. A royal blue was derived from a lapis stone in Afghanistan as far back as the 6th century BCE.
The remains in the tombs are of the rich and noble. The tops of the sarcophagi are covered with a statue in a lounging position of the dead person. Too much to investigate but I wonder what was inside the sarcophagus? Were the bodies laid to rest on a mattress or material? You can see the hole in the end of the slope for fluids to escape and what type of preparation did the body have? I only wonder becuase someone had to dig the tomb and I'm sure the body was there. Or, maybe it was somewhere else and decomposing during that period. A bit morbid, but it peaked my curiosity.
We also went to the beach which you can see from just about any point looking west. It has a walkway, apartments, and appears to be a summer vacation place with umbrella, chaise lounge and pedal boat rentals. There was nothing going on as it was 15C outside and the winds have really picked up the last few days. It was nice though to take a walk along the Tyrrhenian Sea.
We had some good eats both at home and out. We ate at Al Pachino, not to be confused with the actor but with the Pachino, small cherry type tomatoes from Sicily. The food was excellent and a wide variety to choose from. After Rome, I pretty much was full of bread and here we had the opportunity to taste eggplant parmesan, Italian roasted chicken in herbs, some great grilled potatoes and a small lasagna topped off with a glass of chianti.
We headed out the next morning to Vicopisano 20 minutes east of Pisa. Time to do some leaning! I apolgize for the disjointed blog post but it seems we are always on the go. There is so much to share and talk about; art, history, culture, food, current life styles of Italians and more.
Pretty area and the food looks delicious.
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