Who wouldn’t love, just for one day, to step into the shoes of a real Etruscan? To find out about the habits and customs of a people that was as sophisticated as it was enigmatic? Well, now you can, by visiting the underground park, Etruscopolis in Tarquinia.
In 1999 the artist Omero Bordo created, in an ancient Etruscan cave dating from the 4th century BC, a theme park, with the aim of faithfully reproducing the the ancient Etruscan civilization through the reconstruction of seven painted tombs, complete with bodies and funerary items; an early Iron Age village; a model of the ancient city of Tarquinia, a life-size dwelling house typically used by the Italic tribes; a display of quarrying work; a craft workshop; and last but not least, the preparation of a corpse for burial.
But the artist didn’t stop there! Having managed to dig out the secret of the old clay mixture for ceramics and ancient manufacturing techniques, he created, to complete our educational journey, a museum bursting with vases, bronze sculptures, items of everyday use, surgical tools, votive offerings and weapons that are so similar to the originals that they sometimes needed a certificate to prove they weren’t authentic!
The atmosphere you breathe is magical, surreal, filled with a sacred, almost mystical silence; the play of light and shadows, so brilliantly orchestrated, takes adults and children alike into another historical dimension, in a veritable trip back in time.
For the whole month of February the site will be open on Sundays from 10-13 am and 3-7 pm. From the month of March opening will be extended to the whole weekend. The park will be opened outside fixed hours only for group bookings.
Via delle Pietrare s.n.c. Tarquinia (VT), www.etruscopolis.com
Facebook: Etruscopolis Tel. 0766/855175 – Cell. 328/3240742 – Cell. 333/1072964 – Cell. 333/5264036