We're planning to stop in one of these cities on the way out of Rome to view the Etruscan tombs and visit the Etruscan museum there. Do you have a preference for the antiquities of one of these areas over the other, and if so why? My impression is that the museum in Tarquinia may be better in terms of quality of artifacts. Also that we would see tomb paintings in the Tarquinia necropolis vs sculpted tombs at Cerveteri. There is the famous '3D' tomb at Cerveteri which is the tomb of the Matuna family but are there others of similar quality in the necropolis? I read that at Tarquinia you view the tomb paintings from a window outside the tomb - is the viewing good? I'll probably never get to this part of Italy again, so just wanting to get the best from our time there. Any suggestions are much appreciated.
Posted by
Las Vegas
67 posts
I'm also interested to know if anyone has thoughts on these sites. We've just watched a Great Courses lecture series called The Mysterious Etruscans and can't wait to visit Cerveteri and Tarquinia. This trip however, we're off to France, so will check out the Louvre for their Etruscan art collection.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16240 posts
Last time I went was on one of my high school field trip. Given my considerable age, that would make this info rather obsolete. Nevertheless I think that both the Tarquinia museum and the Necropolis in Cerveteri would make it a great day trip. Since Tarquinia and Cerveteri are so close (we visited both on the same day with my school as they are about 35-40 min apart), I think you can easily hit both. I presume you have a car, as both Cerveteri and the Necropolis out of town are a certain distance from the Ladispoli station.
Posted by
OP
Columbus, USA
404 posts
We're picking up a car in Civita first, so I'm glad you are also recommending a car. I could definitely do both, but I'll have to check on my fellow travelers enthusiasm levels. Since Tarquinia and Cerveteri are both UNESCO sites I assume they're pretty cool, particularly for history nerds like me. We're spending the night at Santo Stefano, Argentario, so also wanting to make sure we have at least some time to enjoy that area. Wish I had a month or a season in Italy instead of just two weeks!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16240 posts
I don't think you will find rental car offices in Civita Di Bagnoregio.
Since you are coming from Rome, I recommend you pick up your car on your way out of Rome at any of the many city locations and drive to your destinations from there.
Posted by
OP
Columbus, USA
404 posts
We're picking up a car in Civitavecchia. Looks like I'm improperly calling it Civita. Sorry for the confusion.
Posted by
Chicago
8703 posts
The tomb sites in each of these cities are hugely different. I would see each of the fields of tombs (one is underground and one is above ground -- entirely different styles). I would skip the museum and just go to Villa Julia in Rome for Etruscan relics.
FWIW there are also tombs in the hills near Sovana. We got a map of the sites in town and then drove up to several tombs in the hills.