April 8 – Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy. Civitavecchia is the nearest port to Rome that can handle cruise ships so they dock here and take the two-hour drive into Rome. They offer tours to Rome off the ship and we've done them in the past but I have to admit that spending 4 hours on the bus to tour for 8 hours is not a very good trade off. When we'd never been there it seemed like a good deal but having spent some time in Rome both on our own and on tours it is no longer attractive.
We're heading to the city of Tarquinia to check out some the Etruscan necropolis. I have always been fascinated by mysterious cultures and the Etruscans are that in spades. Not much is know about them but little by little the mystery is being uncovered. The necropolis at Tarquinia gives some insight into their beliefs and lifestyle. Like the Egyptians, the Etruscans believed in an afterlife and supplied the dead person with everything he would need to be happy there. The tombs were a rich source of artifacts and insights. The wall decorations show people, things and activities from everyday life.
While not much about the Etruscans is known for sure (Anything I've underlined is reliably supported, everything else is up for grabs.) there are some things that are pretty evident. They were a prominent culture from the Po Valley to Campania, including Rome, in what is now Italy. They appeared suddenly in the 8th century BC suggesting a large migration. I could list all the proposed sources from which they came but I'll just say the most likely candidate for me is somewhere in Asia Minor probably the area of Turkey. They were absorbed by the Romans in the 3rd century BC. I say absorbed because they had a profound influence on Roman culture that continued until it collapsed. Basic Etruscan concepts of religion, civil engineering and city development were adopted by and further developed by the Romans. Their artifacts and tomb drawing show that they were skilled metalworkers and had iron as early as 1000 BC. Etruscan metalwork had its highest fulfillment in their jewelry. We've seen it in several museums around the world and it is always impressive. It's hard to believe that it was made over 2,500 years ago, as it looks very modern and is so artistically advanced. From the artifacts found in Etruscan tombs we know they were heavily engaged in trade with the Greek world.
Although they had a written language, they didn't write much down. Oddly, they used the Greek alphabet but, unlike the Greeks, wrote from right to left like Hebrew or Arabic. That, in itself, is odd enough to catch my attention. Most of what remains of their writing is on sarcophagi or other tomb inscriptions. Yet, unlike the Egyptians, there's no clear indication of who is buried in them. Consequently the tombs at Tarquinia are named for some element in the decoration or in honor of an Etruscan researcher. Seems a little odd also.
These tombs, just like the pyramids of Egypt, became more elaborate in style as time went by. Also, just as in Egypt these tombs belonged to the rich and influential members of the society. They started out as simple, one chambered subterranean vaults and became multi chambered, more complex structures with antechambers and stairways in their final form. When construction was complete they were covered over with soil resulting in the formation of a small mound. The area of the necropolis is dotted with small bumps. As they have been excavated the conservators have added covered stairwells to descend for a view of the inside. The stairwell ends at a fairly small hole that has been cut in the tomb's side that you crouch down to get a look inside. The interiors are illuminated by an odd light source with which my camera's white balance adjustment can't adequately deal. I'll have to Photoshop the pictures to remove and abnormal yellowish green cast that results.
The tomb paintings are polychromatic but in only five colors, white from chalk, black from carbon, blue from ground lapis lazuli and red and yellow from natural ocher soil. The subjects of the various paintings show us about all we know of the architecture, family units, housing, furnishings, clothing, deities and rituals of the culture. When taken with the artifacts found in the tombs very good theories can be postulated about the culture.
For example, The Juggler's Tomb's (La Tomba die Giocolieri) decoration has a great deal of information. It's one of the single chamber tombs but it does have a sloped roof with a flat surface where the gable would be. Little of the ceiling decoration remains but the back wall's fresco is largely intact. At the top in the sloping areas on each side of the central flat area there's a blue panther to the right and a red lion to the left. The rectangle of the main wall is a scene of various celebrations for the deceased who sits on a chair at the extreme right of the scene. He's seated in a type of chair that would indicate he was a judge of some sort or is judging the performance of those celebrating him. In front of him are, starting from the far left, are two naked figures very simply rendered that appear to be young servants, a naked young man, fully rendered, in a pose of salutation, a flute player in a red cloak, a richly dressed woman balancing an unidentifiable object on her head (possibly his wife?), and a young man holding two disks (the only person facing away from the deceased, assumed to be a juggler, hence the name of the tomb) standing in front of two chests. This one scene gives us information about clothing, furniture, societal organization, musical instruments and entertainment. Taken with all the other tomb decorations, you can start to formulate some ideas about the Etruscans but not enough to be really sure.
I had time to view and photograph 7 of the tombs before time ran out and I had to head to the pick up point.
From the necropolis we headed to downtown Tarquinia to visit the small museum that houses some of the relics unearthed during the excavation of the tombs. Unfortunately, as usual, the best of the artifacts were claimed by museums in Rome, including the Vatican Museum (The jewelry in the Vatican Museum is spectacular). The jewelry here was the still the most interesting display for me. One golden necklace in particular caught my eye. It was an 18 string of what appeared to be finely twisted leather or catgut from which 1-inch high golden copies of various styles of pottery were hung. Golden vases are so well executed that they could have been made yesterday. Some of them have been dented over the years leading me to believe that they are hollow, not solid, a much more sophisticated manufacturing process.
The museum also had a large collection of pottery and even a small section of items that were clearly Greek in origin. It was a museum well worth the visit.
From Tarquinia we drove out of town to a small farm where the family has prepared some snacks for us. The parents and daughter greeted us. Ok, no farmer's daughter jokes. I will admit that Diana wanted to take my picture with her but I got Diana to pose instead.
The table was set with a vegetable frittata, olives, marinated artichoke, finely chopped black olives and tomatoes, thinly sliced cured ham, cheese and crustini quarters on which to eat everything. Next to the cheese was a small bowl of honey that we were told is eaten on the cheese. It seemed like a novel idea to me but I'm willing to try anything once so this was a very easy decision. It was also a very good one. The two went together famously. They also had large pitchers of red and white wine that the make on the farm. It was all very good and we spent a pleasant hour eating and talking about what we'd seen that morning.
The farmer had set up a little table with his honey, cheese and wine. Everything was selling quite briskly, especially the honey and wine.
After our break for snacks it was back on the bus and down to the port.
Our entertainer was Harry the Piano. It's an odd name and he's an odd guy. He played music from all styles. His main shtick is to play songs in a style different from the original. He was excellent and received a very warm reception and a tumultuous sendoff. Very high energy and originality.
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