Never on a Monday
by Bunsch
Not just in Tarquinia...many (perhaps most) Italian museums are closed on Mondays. This can be a spirit-killer if you're only in a city or town for a single day and the museums are unavailable, which is why the Spirit moves me to suggest that much of Italy's great art is found in its churches, virtually all of which are open every day of the week (and are generally free, to boot). So find your Caravaggios and della Robbias in the local duomo, and soak in the notion that people have been hallowing with their prayers the place where they are situated for many hundreds of years.
The most famous Etruscan necropolis
by Bunsch
"What, more Etruscans?"
We decided that no Etruscan-oriented tour of Italy was complete without a visit to Tarquinia, which features one of the largest and most famous of the Etruscan necropoli. There are about 150 tombs, many dating to 700 BC, festooned with wonderful drawings or frescoes of Etruscans cavorting, often in full color. I have to admit that it was blazing hot on the day we arrived, and the notion of tramping around the vast space was not very appealing. Luckily there is an excellent museum which, having been built with those lovely thick walls, defeats much of the summer heat so that you can ogle the treasures inside in relative comfort.
"The museum..."
The museum is situated high above the Mediterranean sea. Just a glance out the window is sufficient to have tourists asking themselves on a hot day, "Why aren't we down there enjoying the beach?" So our next stop was at Tarquinia Lido for lunch and potential watersports. We ruled those out only when it became obvious that the sand was too hot to even walk on it!
"...and the place from which the goodies came"
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Expect something like this (not my pic)
Courtyard of the Archeological Museum
A map of the necropolis
Tarquinia
