The Monterozzi Necropolis is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important Etruscan sites in Italy. The hillside east of Tarquinia contains several thousand tombs from between the 7th and 3rd centuries BC, of which around 200 have survived with their painted decoration intact. A selection of these are open for visits on a rotating basis — typically around 15 at any time — and they preserve vivid frescoes depicting scenes from daily life and the afterlife in a style unlike anything Roman or Greek.
The visit requires a guide or audio guide. The tombs are small, climate-controlled chambers that can only be viewed through glass panels to protect the fragile paintings. The atmosphere is quiet and slightly otherworldly — stepping into a narrow chamber to peer at a 2,500-year-old banquet scene through glass on a hillside outside a small Lazio town is a genuinely unusual experience. The combined ticket with the national museum is the best value. Allow 90 minutes.