Tuscia was the land of the Etruscans, from Sutri, called "Gate of Etruria", to Vulci we can find many traces of this ancient population such as necropolis and ruins, preserved in museum.
In this article you are going to find out the best archeological museums to visit in Tuscia. Thus, if you like history and galleries with old objects do not miss this post.
Gothic cloister and Etruscan Museum in Viterbo
National Archeoligical Museum in Viterbo
Not much remains of the majestic Rocca Albornoz who was wanted in the fourteenth century by the homonymous Cardinal and which now houses the rooms of the National Archaeological Museum of Viterbo.
The museum pays special attention to the reconstruction of the daily life of the Etruscans and some of their buildings, reproduced in full scale.
On the ground floor, there are the results of the excavations done by the Swedish Institute in San Giovenale and Acquarossa, dating back to seventh and ninth B.C.
The first floor is dedicated to the remains of Etruscan-Roman Ferento, near Viterbo. Here you can find a reconstruction of the theater stage decorated with statues of the Muses, and an amazing Etruscan mosaic found in Musarna's site
The top floor instead is occupied by the grave goods of the most important centers of Etruscan land and by a massive grave found during excavations in Ischia di Castro.
Etruscan finds
The National Archeological Museum of Tarquinia
The National Archaeological Museum of Tarquinia is housed in Palazzo Vitelleschi, dating back to 1400.
It collects the material found in the area of Civita, the old town of Tarquinia. The museum also houses a portion of the clay decoration of the Tempio dell'Ara della Regina, and a number of beautiful sarcophagus.
Do not miss some frescoes of particular value, detached from the decorated tombs, such as the "Triclinio" and that one called "Olympics".
The Tuscanese Archaeological Museum
The Archaeological Museum Tuscanese is housed in the Convent of Santa Maria del Riposo, Renaissance complex, built in the fifteenth century, with a cloister decorated with seventeenth-century frescoes representing the life and history of San Francesco.
The museum has a remarkable testimony of the graves found in the area. In particular there are furnitures and tombstones of the families Curunas Vipinana, dating back to the Etruscan and Roman periods.
In the ground floor there are unique remains of Etruscan tombs in the necropolis Madonna dell'Ulivo, and Carcarello, including a number of sarcophagus and some furnishings that the Etruscans did everyday.
In the halls of the upper floor are exhibited the finds discovered in the necropolis of Pian di Mola, Ara del Tufo and Scalette from the third century B.C..
Archaeological Museum of Vulci
Despite the small size, in the Archeological Museum of Vulci there are very useful things to reconstruct a part of the ancient history of the Valle del Fiora.
Housed in the majestic medieval Badia Castle, it exhibits rich grave goods found in the tombs that are currently part of the Natural Park Archaeological Vulci, in the territory between Canino and Montalto di Castro.
Badia Castle
Museum of Barbarano Romano
There are numerous necropolis discovered in the territory of Barbarano Romano and its Park Marturanum.
Many of the artefacts found in these cemeteries, especially the San Giuliano one, are housed in the Archaeological Museum of Barbarano Romano.
The museum displays a number of artifacts spanning a large period of time, from prehistory to the Middle Ages; of particular interest is a funerary obelisk in tuff, more than 3 meters high and dating back to the Late Archaic age.
