Etruscan Towns & Museums

When last in Rome I didn't have time to go to all the way to Tarquinia, but I did make a day trip to Cerveteri and loved it. I am actually kind of obsessed with the Etruscans (based on a long-ago student trip that included the Etruscan finds at Fiesole), and I loved the Etruscan museum in Rome as well.

Fyi, I visited a wonderful Etruscan Museum in the small hill town of Orvieto. It is located across the way from the stunningly beautiful cathedral. Definitely worth a visit.

We stayed in Zagarolo at a great B&B/agriturismo--20 miles south of Rome. The town fabricated Roman soldier's helmets and it is where gladiators trained.
Our host drove us to the top of a 1700 foot mountain and we walked down 2500 year old trails to Palestrina, a Pagan temple. They have a great Etruscan museum there.
The temple had been lost after being built over many times. At the end of WWII, Allied bombs were dropped on the town and out of the rubble the ancient temple was found. It has since been excavated and is quite a sight--in remarkable good condition.

I'm curious, did you visit using public transit or did you have a car? It's my impression that visiting Tarquinia using public transit isn't easy. If my impression is wrong and there are good public transit options, then it would be a great stop along the rail line from Pisa to Rome. In terms of Rick not describing Tarquinia, his guidebook strategy appears to be to focus on fewer destinations more frequently and in more detail than many other guidebooks. The more wide-ranging Italy guidebooks such as Lonely Planet do describe it.

Chiusi also has a noteworthy Etruscan museum. If your timing is right, you can also reserve a spot for a guided tour of the underground burial chambers nearby. (Not available every day.)

I've posted several times about Tarquinia...it's a place that is worth visiting.
You are correct to recommend it although since it is a bit off of the Rick Steve's herd trail, many folks won't bother to find it.
Recently we stayed in an Agri Tourismo in the area of Civita di Bagnoregio and rented a car in Orvieto to use to visit Tarquinia, Viturbo, Montepulciano and many other wonderful towns in that area. We dropped the car off in Orvieto and took the train to Rome when were were done. It is easy to spend a week in that area but even 3 or 4 days are worthwhile.
It would be difficult to do this efficiently using only public transportation...the reason that so many folks never make it past Orvieto.

The tombs of Populonia wonderfully combine history and nature. The Vie Cave trail loops through the wooded hillside past underground tombs and even a house-like tomb structure. There's also a pretty good Etruscan museum in nearby Piombino.