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CERVETERI |
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The station at Ladispoli also serves CERVETERI , which provides the
most accessible Etruscan taster if you're commuting from Rome - though
be warned that the station is 7km away from the centre. Buses are more
convenient, leaving from the Lepanto metro station (line A) in Rome
every thirty minutes and dropping you at Piazza Aldo Moro in Cerveteri
(a 1hr 20min journey). There's been a settlement here since the tenth
century BC, when it was already known to the Greeks as an important
trading centre. Cerveteri, the Roman Caere , was among the top three
cities in the twelve-strong Etruscan federation, its wealth derived
largely from the mineral riches of the Tolfa hills to the northeast - a
gentle range which give the plain a much-needed touch of scenic colour.
In its heyday the town spread over 8 km (something like thirty times its
present size), controlling territory that stretched for 50km up the
coast. The rot set in from 351 BC, when it became a dependency of Rome,
having failed, like most of Etruria, to maintain a neutrality with the
new power.
The present town is a thirteenth-century creation, dismissed by Lawrence
- and you really can't blame him - as "forlorn beyond words". On
arrival, make straight for the Etruscan necropolis (Tues-Sun: May-Sept
9am-7pm; Oct-April 9am-4pm; L8000/¬4.13), just a kilometre away and
signposted from the central piazza. The Etruscans constructed a literal
city of the dead here, weird and fantastically well preserved, with
complete streets and houses, some formed as strange round pillboxes
carved from the living rock, others still covered in earth to create the
tumuli effect that ripples over the surrounding plateau. The general
span of the graves is seventh to first century BC: as far as anyone can
make out, women were buried in separate small chambers within the
"house" - easy to distinguish - while the men were laid on death beds
(occasionally in sarcophagi) hewn directly from the stone. Slaves were
cremated and their ashes placed in urns alongside their masters -
civilized by comparison with the Romans, who simply threw their slaves
into mass burial pits. The twelve or so show-tombs, lying between the
two roads that bisect the city, are grouped together beyond the
entrance; they close in random rotation, so it's difficult to know in
advance which ones are going to be open. If possible don't miss the
Tomba Bella (Tomb of the Bas-Reliefs), Tomba dei Letti Funebri (Tomb of
the Funeral Beds) and the Tomba dei Capitelli .
You could spend several hours wandering about here, but you might be
better off heading back into town to the Museo Nazionale di Cervéteri ,
at the top of the old quarter in the sixteenth-century Castello Ruspoli
(Tue-Sun 9am-7pm; free). This has two large rooms containing a fraction
of the huge wealth that was buried with the Etruscan dead - vases,
sarcophagi, terracottas and a run of miscellaneous day-to-day objects;
most of the best stuff has been whisked away to Villa Giulia in Rome .
On the way to the museum, if the tombs have whetted your appetite you
might want to make a stop at the little trattoria , Tulchulcha , on the
necropolis road, where they serve a hearty country-style food backed up
by crisp Cerveteri white wines: in summer you can eat on the terrace
overlooking the town; in winter, there's a crackling fireplace to warm
your chilled bones (no credit cards; closed Mon).
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