Cerveteri
©
Cerveteri

Cerveteri

Etruscan town near Rome, known for the Banditaccia necropolis carved like a city of the dead.

Cerveteri, ancient Caere, is one of the most important Etruscan sites in Italy and well worth the short detour from Rome or Tarquinia. The Necropoli della Banditaccia — a vast city of the dead — is where most of the Etruscan objects now filling the museums of Rome and beyond were excavated.

The necropolis is unlike any other ancient site in Italy. It was planned on the same principles used by the Etruscans for their cities of the living: laid out in streets, with tomb-houses that have doorways, windows, and rooms carved from the tufa rock. Walking through it with a torch is an extraordinary experience — the chambers are cool and quiet, the carvings remarkably intact. Several hours can easily pass. The site covers about three kilometres and involves a fair amount of climbing.

The Regolini-Galassi tomb, one of the most significant Etruscan burial discoveries ever made, is within the necropolis, though its extraordinary contents — golden jewellery, bronze furniture, a ceremonial chariot — were taken to Rome and the Vatican after the 1836 excavation. The National Archaeological Museum in the town's Castello Ruspoli holds what remained.

Bring a good torch. The site has no artificial lighting inside the tombs.

Guide

Getting There

Cerveteri is 45 km north-west of Rome, about a 45-minute drive via the A12 motorway (Roma-Civitavecchia). From central Rome, take the A12 north and exit at Cerveteri-Ladispoli. By public transport, take the regional train from Roma Termini or Roma Ostiense towards Civitavecchia and alight at Ladispoli-Cerveteri station. From the station, a local bus covers the 8 km to Cerveteri town (check the COTRAL timetable) or a taxi is available. The journey from Rome by train and bus takes around 1.5 hours. The site of the necropolis is a further 2 km walk or short taxi ride from the town centre.

Guide

Things to Do

The Necropoli della Banditaccia is the main attraction and one of the best-preserved Etruscan necropolis sites in existence. Streets of tomb-houses carved from tufa rock, some with multiple rooms and carved furniture, give a vivid sense of how the Etruscans imagined the afterlife as a continuation of daily life. The site covers roughly three kilometres; wear good shoes and bring a torch.

The National Archaeological Museum in the town centre holds the finds that were not taken to Rome after 19th-century excavations — a useful introduction to what the necropolis once contained. The Castello Ruspoli and medieval town centre are worth a brief walk before heading out to the site.