Description
The National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia is the museum of the Etruscans in Rome, in a Renaissance villa just outside the walls, near Villa Borghese. It gathers the Etruscan and Faliscan antiquities of Lazio, southern Etruria and Umbria: tombs, bronzes, ceramics, jewelry.
The most famous piece is the Sarcophagus of the Spouses, a terracotta funerary monument of the 6th century BC with two spouses almost life-size, reclining in a banquet pose. It was found at Cerveteri in 1881, broken into 400 pieces.
Then the Apollo of Veii, a painted terracotta statue about 180 centimeters tall that decorated the roof of an Etruscan temple, and the Pyrgi Tablets, gold sheets with a text in Etruscan and Phoenician. The museum also has the Ficoroni Cista, a bronze jewelry casket, and the Chigi Olpe.
In the right-hand courtyard stands the reproduction of an Etruscan temple, while the museum keeps the remains of the one found near Alatri. The Barberini, Castellani and Pesciotti collections complete the route. Since 2012 the museum extends into the nearby Villa Poniatowski as well.
The villa itself is worth the visit. Behind Vignola's severe facade, a loggia by Ammannati looks onto the garden, and from there you descend to the nymphaeum, a cool multilevel corner with statues and a central fountain: it was made for dining sheltered from the summer heat.
What strikes you about the Spouses is that she is there on an equal footing with her husband: Etruscan women took part in banquets, while Roman women did not for centuries. It is only one of the surprises of this museum, founded in 1889 to gather the region's pre-Roman antiquities.
The villa was wanted by Pope Julius III, a humanist and great lover of the arts, as a residence outside the city. It was built between 1551 and 1553 by Vignola, Vasari and Ammannati, and even Michelangelo contributed a design.
Paul IV, a much sterner pope, confiscated all his properties. Then the villa was a barracks, a warehouse, even a lazaretto and veterinary school, until in 1870 it passed to the Italian State, which made it a museum.
Among the pieces is a high relief from the temple of Pyrgi with a scene from the myth of the Seven against Thebes: Tydeus eating the brains of an enemy, a chilling subject.
Don't miss
• The Sarcophagus of the Spouses.
• The Apollo of Veii.
• The Pyrgi Tablets.
• The Ficoroni Cista.
• The nymphaeum.
Did you know?
• From 1947 to 2015 the meeting to choose the winner of the Strega Prize was held in the nymphaeum.
• The villa's water came from a branch of the Aqua Virgo, the same as the Trevi Fountain.
• Since 2016 the museum has been among the state institutions with special autonomy.
The most famous piece is the Sarcophagus of the Spouses, a terracotta funerary monument of the 6th century BC with two spouses almost life-size, reclining in a banquet pose. It was found at Cerveteri in 1881, broken into 400 pieces.
Then the Apollo of Veii, a painted terracotta statue about 180 centimeters tall that decorated the roof of an Etruscan temple, and the Pyrgi Tablets, gold sheets with a text in Etruscan and Phoenician. The museum also has the Ficoroni Cista, a bronze jewelry casket, and the Chigi Olpe.
In the right-hand courtyard stands the reproduction of an Etruscan temple, while the museum keeps the remains of the one found near Alatri. The Barberini, Castellani and Pesciotti collections complete the route. Since 2012 the museum extends into the nearby Villa Poniatowski as well.
The villa itself is worth the visit. Behind Vignola's severe facade, a loggia by Ammannati looks onto the garden, and from there you descend to the nymphaeum, a cool multilevel corner with statues and a central fountain: it was made for dining sheltered from the summer heat.
What strikes you about the Spouses is that she is there on an equal footing with her husband: Etruscan women took part in banquets, while Roman women did not for centuries. It is only one of the surprises of this museum, founded in 1889 to gather the region's pre-Roman antiquities.
The villa was wanted by Pope Julius III, a humanist and great lover of the arts, as a residence outside the city. It was built between 1551 and 1553 by Vignola, Vasari and Ammannati, and even Michelangelo contributed a design.
Paul IV, a much sterner pope, confiscated all his properties. Then the villa was a barracks, a warehouse, even a lazaretto and veterinary school, until in 1870 it passed to the Italian State, which made it a museum.
Among the pieces is a high relief from the temple of Pyrgi with a scene from the myth of the Seven against Thebes: Tydeus eating the brains of an enemy, a chilling subject.
Don't miss
• The Sarcophagus of the Spouses.
• The Apollo of Veii.
• The Pyrgi Tablets.
• The Ficoroni Cista.
• The nymphaeum.
Did you know?
• From 1947 to 2015 the meeting to choose the winner of the Strega Prize was held in the nymphaeum.
• The villa's water came from a branch of the Aqua Virgo, the same as the Trevi Fountain.
• Since 2016 the museum has been among the state institutions with special autonomy.