Tarquinia and the Etruscan necropolis

Thanks to its geographical position but overall to the sacredness of its history, Tarquinia was the leader of Etruria. According to legend, it was founded by the farmer, Tarconte, after an apparition of a mysterious being. It was part child and part elderly person who emerged from the land dictating the rules of Etruscan religion and civilization. Today, after two millenniums, it appears an an extraordinary open-air museum.
Monterozzi Necropolis
Of all of the archaeological areas found scattered in the countryside, the most famous is the necropolis of Monterozzi, famous for the frescoes of its tombs. It is one of the best pieces of evidence of pictorial art of the ancient world. Around 150 burial mounds open along a central road. Only around 15 can be visited, which take their names from the subject of their frescoes. It is a fascinating experience: you cross a small rectangular door and go down a steep stairway several meters underground, in the meanders of the earth, in the dark. Here a light is turned on, and you find yourselves suddenly in front of vivid paintings.
Pian della Civita or Pian della Regina
It is an ancient Etruscan metropolis, which rises on a hill. On the most elevated part, the grand ruins of the large temple, Altar Reginae, are visible, probably dating back to the first half of the 4th century B.C. It is a rectangular design, proceeded by a monumental entry stairway. Here, long ago, it was full of statues. The only ones remaining are the famous "Cavalli Alati" (Winged Horses), which decorated the pediment of the temple, today held in the National Tarquinese Museum.
National Tarquinese Museum
It is located inside Palazzo Vitelleschi. You'll find it immediately inside the city walls, entering from the Barrier of San Giusto. The façade presents different architectural styles: the left part is without a doubt Renaissance, while elements of Gothic and Catalan meet in the right-hand part and in the portal. Having gone past the portal, you'll find yourselves in an airy courtyard with trapezoidal layout framed by a portico. It is here that you enter the museum, in which you find archaeological materials inside that tell you the story of the Etruscan people, including gravestones, urns, sarcophaguses in stone and terracotta. The expressions of the deceased carved into the sides of the sarcophaguses, fixed for eternity, make you reflect: some seem sad, others calm; some seem outright distracted. Among these, it is worth mentioning the Sarcophagus of Sacerdote, one of the few painted and not sculpted. The second floor holds original frescoes walls removed from four tombs of the nearby Monterozzi necropolis and the previously mentioned "Cavalli Alati" (Winged Horses).
Historic Center
If you still have time we encourage you to lose yourselves on the streets of the medieval historic center of Tarquinia. After having gone through centuries of invasions and bloody raids, the city learned to find its medieval luster again, under the guidance of Cardinal Vitelleschi. If you follow the city wall from within, you'll come across the Church of Maria in Castello, from the 12th century, with the austere but very elegant Romanesque façade and Palazzo Comunale, Romanesque but with significant Baroque interventions.