Tuscany, the area in central Italy between Rome and Florence, was originally settled by a tribe of people who wandered into the area from Greece. Known as Etruscans, they gave their name to the region.

Since my knowledge of ancient European history is weak, I seized upon the opportunity to learn more while in Tuscany in May, 2004. While we were staying in Pienza, Linda and I took a tour to the ruins of an Etruscan necropolis (cemetery) in Sorano. The tombs were carved in the soft volcanic rock around 300 BC. After the Etruscans were absorbed by their more powerful neighbors, the Romans, their culture and buildings fell into ruin. These particular ruins were rediscovered in 1929 and are still be studied by archaeologists.

Mostra operates a shop in Sorano where he creates replicas of Etruscan terracotta ware. The early Etruscans buried their dead in tombs believing that the soul remained with the body for a period of time after death. Later they cremated their dead and retained the ashes in highly decorated alabaster urns. Their tombs were Greek–like in architecture and were stocked with gold, ivory, ostrich eggs, and valuable shells.

This rendering of the Etruscan tomb shows how it looked in the third century BC. The cornice and columns are reminicient of Greek architecture. The society was probably made up of a powerful aristocracy; a middle class of craftsmen, merchants, and sailors; and laboring slaves. Greeks and Romans, at the time, wrote of the well–dressed, elegant Etruscan slaves who owned their own homes and could buy their freedom. The Etruscans had a written language, still puzzling today.

The Etruscans had a passion for games. In one tomb was a drawing of a female juggler balancing a large wine jar on her head while men tried to toss discs into the jar. Another depicted competitors climbing a slippery pole. There were also horse races, chariot races, jumping contests, and javelin throwing, much like the Greek Olympics.

The ruins of the 2,300–year–old Etruscan tomb. Note the one remaining column carved into the soft volcanic rock. Much like the cliff dwellers of the American Southwest, the Etruscans built their dwellings in cliffsides near a running stream. They farmed on the plateaus above their homes and tombs. In Sorano, the homes were connected to the fields by deep crevasses which the people used as roads.

Linda purchased vases like these from the shop in Sorano. In the town of Sorano, Linda found highly accurate replicas of Etruscan vases in the Mostra Terracotta Etrusca shop. After a bit of bargaining she purchased one we now have on our mantle at home.

(Next week: Orvieto the Magnificent)