Discover the ancient and mysterious pre-Roman civilization of the Etruscans on this private Villa Giulia tour. Your top-rated guide will meet you in front of the National Etruscan Museum, housed inside Villa Giulia, and take you straight through security, and begin this unique and fascinating tour.
The Etruscans lived on the Italian Peninsula between the Arno and Tiber rivers from the tenth to the first centuries B.C. We know they traded with the Greeks, and are especially famous for their terracotta funerary monuments.
The magnificent Villa Giulia is a masterpiece of Mannerist architecture. It was built for the scandal-ridden Pope Julius III, who reigned for just five years. He is famous, or rather infamous, for how little he interested himself in the Church and politics, and how much he indulged his tastes for fine living, fine dining, and fine art. His dilapidated villa was taken over by the state and became the Etruscan Museum after the Unification of Italy in the late 19th century.
Nowadays, the collection is spread across two floors and the pieces are displayed according to age and origin. You’ll see sculptures, jewelry, pottery, and funerary monuments that give us fascinating glimpses and insights into a long-lost civilization. The Sarcophagus of the Spouses is probably the most famous relic on display. Made of terracotta, it shows a smiling, married couple with arms around each other, both with plaited hair, reclining on their own tomb.
Other unmissable pieces are the large terracotta statue known as the Apollo of Veii and the Pyrgi Tablets: gold tablets featuring 2500-year-old texts in Etruscan and Phoenician.
You will also explore the Villa’s glorious landscaped gardens; a refreshing green oasis.. Among the terraces and water fountains, you’ll find an ancient Nymphaeum with a stunning mosaic floor situated in a water garden and a replica 4th-century temple called the Temple of Alatri. The gardens also house the museum’s restaurant. At the end of the tour, your guide can leave you to relax and refresh, or you can exit together.