Tarquinia
©
Tarquinia

Tarquinia

Hilltop Lazio town above painted Etruscan tombs, medieval streets, and the Monterozzi Necropolis.

Tarquinia is one of the most important Etruscan sites in Italy — a hilltop medieval town in northern Lazio that sits atop the remains of one of the most powerful cities in the ancient Etruscan world. The Monterozzi Necropolis on a hill east of town contains painted tombs from the 7th to 3rd centuries BC with vivid frescoes depicting banqueting, dancing, hunting, and the afterlife. The Tarquinia National Museum in the magnificent Gothic Palazzo Vitelleschi holds the celebrated Winged Horses of Tarquinia alongside an outstanding collection of Etruscan pottery, bronzes, and sarcophagi.

The Tomb of the Leopards is among the best-preserved of the painted tombs, with a 2,500-year-old banqueting scene in colours that still register orange and red and black through the protective glass. The medieval town itself — the streets around the cathedral and the Palazzo Vitelleschi — is quietly attractive and genuinely lived-in rather than purely touristic. Tarquinia makes an excellent day trip from Rome, or a stop between Rome and Tuscany.

Guide

Getting There

Tarquinia is on the main Rome-Pisa-Genoa coastal railway line, with regular trains from Roma Termini taking around 80 to 90 minutes. The station (Tarquinia station) is at the base of the hill, about 2 km from the historic centre and the Palazzo Vitelleschi; taxis are usually available at the station, or it is a manageable walk uphill. By car from Rome, the A12 motorway runs up the coast; the exit for Tarquinia is about 90 km from the ring road.

Civitavecchia, the main port for Rome and a large ferry hub, is about 20 km to the south — Tarquinia makes a good half-day excursion from there if you have a few hours between ferries.

Guide

Things to Do

Tarquinia has two world-class attractions: the Monterozzi Necropolis, with its painted Etruscan tombs, and the Tarquinia National Museum in the Palazzo Vitelleschi, which holds one of the finest collections of Etruscan art in existence. The medieval hilltop town itself is well-preserved, with handsome palaces and towers, and the coast at nearby Tarquinia Lido is good for a swim in summer.