Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
SIGHTS
Cerveteri, or Kysry to the Etruscans and Caere to Latin speakers, was one of the most im-
portant commercial centres in the Mediterranean from the 7th to the 5th centuries BC.
However, most of the city was built of wood; hence there is nothing left. Only the necro-
polis, carved underground, gives an indication of how splendid the Etruscan city must have
been.
As Roman power grew, so Cerveteri's fortunes faded, and in 358 BC the city was an-
nexed by Rome. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the spread of malaria and repeated
Saracen invasions caused further decline. In the 13th century there was a mass exodus from
the city to the nearby town of Ceri, and Caere became Caere Vetus (Old Caere), from
which its current name derives. The early 19th century saw the first tentative archaeologic-
al explorations in the area, and in 1911 systematic excavations began in earnest.
NECROPOLI DI BANDITACCIA
( 06 3996 7150; Via del Necropoli; admission adult/reduced €6/3, incl museum €8/4; 8.30am to 1hr before sun-
set)
This 10-hectare necropolis is laid out as an afterlife townscape, with streets, squares and
terraces of tombs. Some of the major tombs, including the 6th-century- BC
Tomba dei Rilievi
,
are decorated with painted reliefs. Recent additions include a worthwhile 3D film about the
Etruscans and some stunning 3D installations in several tombs that reconstruct the frescoes
and funerary items that were once kept here.
The most common type of tomb construction is the tumulus, a circular structure cut into
the earth and topped by a cumulus - a topping of turf. The favoured subject matter for the
tomb frescoes is mostly endearingly domestic, featuring cooking implements and other
household items as well as figures from the underworld.
NECROPOLIS
MUSEO NAZIONALE DI CERVETERI
(Piazza Santa Maria; admission adult/reduced €6/3, incl necropolis €8/4; 8.30am-5.30pm Tue-Sun)
In Cerve-
teri's medieval town centre is this splendid museum, where treasures taken from the tombs
help to bring the dead to life - figuratively, at least.
MUSEUM
