Melone del Sodo

Two large Etruscan tumulus tombs sit in the open fields below Cortona, near the suburb of Il Sodo. The tombs, known as Melone I and Melone II, are about three kilometres apart and both can be visited — Melone II, with its remarkable carved staircase and altar platform, is the more rewarding stop.

Access is by appointment through the Cortona archaeology service (book at the Museo dell'Accademia Etrusca). The tombs are most impressive from up close, where the scale of the stone construction becomes clear.

things to do sight archaeological site
A story
The two large round Etruscan tombs in the valley below Cortona are known as 'melons' from their shape — roughly hemispherical earthen mounds about 60 metres across, covering stone-built funerary chambers from the 6th century BC. A staircase platform on the larger Melone II, decorated with carved sphinxes, suggests the site was used for funerary ceremonies in the open air.