The Etruscan necropolises at Tarquinia

On the left you can see The National Museum of Tarquinia (Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Tarquinia) in a 15th century Palazzo. It has an excellent collection of Etruscan and Greek art.

Inside the museum are many Etruscan Tombs.

This tomb was set up so you can see it's 3 sides together.

In a second story courtyard we saw these beautiful terra cotta tombs. We had been to this museum on a visit 8 years ago and these tombs were new. They all seemed to have a split down the middle of them.

Just inside the arm resting underneath this figure you could see a hole - it appears that parts of the terra cotta are hollow.

The Necropolis is a short walk from the city of Tarquinia. The covers guard against moisture, and once inside these little huts, down a set of 20 or 30 steps you come to an opening where you can view the interiors of the tombs. The modern door to the tomb had half a glass opening and nearby is a light switch to turn on the light to view the tomb.

Here I am at the bottom of the stairwell with the door to the tomb behind me. Below you see one of the nifty signs warning you not to bump your head at the bottom.

They weren't kidding - it was a tight fit at the bottom of many of these tombs. We must have explored about 15 of the tombs - that's a lot of stairs to climb!

Here's a view inside one of the tombs. The paintings are incredible. Inside, with the help of the artificial light, the paintings and interiors seemed to glow. A glimpse into the underworld. The tombs are a little 'house' shaped hollow carved out as a final resting place.

Down and up into such a beautiful day. The contrast was breathtaking.

It took a bit of courage to go down the path to the tomb opening above.

The tombs and paintings (two above and two below) were open by appointment only. We took the tour of four newly opened tombs - this one had some of the terra cotta tombs inside. You could see that the necropolis had been used by a family for generations by the different coffin styles - from the early rough limestone tombs, to the more realistic terra cotta style.

More photos showing the contrast of the glorius day and the dark tombs.

A photo of two people who were on the special tour with us. You can see how tight the view into the tombs was. It was a squeeze for two people to view at the same time.

On the left of this photo is our bus stop. We spent an entire day in Tarquinia and as we waited for the bus the sunlight turned that awesome Italian color and the pigeons started to roost in the building behind us. It was an entirely delightful and interesting day.


Here are some links if you are interested in reading a bit about Tarquinia.

The Etruscans
Photos
Beautiful 360 degree photo of museum at Tarquinia

Pompeii - and the Villa of the Mysteries

Pompeii is one of those places on earth that has ghosts. You feel the past lingering on in so many ways. It's more than knowing that Vesuvius erupted in Aug of 79AD. Partially it's knowing that the city was encased in ash and somewhat preserved. Some of the feeling comes from seeing the casts of the people who were frozen in their deaths in ash. I think it's more, though, a sense of space and time that cross in some way to encourage a mystical feeling in the visitor. I would love to return to Pompeii.

The chariot ruts are clearly visable on the streets.

A crumbling relief visible in the baths.

The costly cinnabar pigment in the frescoes is still rich looking at the Villa of the Mysteries.

This poor man was frozen in the ash, then cast. He is now encased in glass in a courtyard along with another figure.

Window Shopping in Rome

A whole lotta window shopping went on. Here are some creative handbags - I almost can't believe the porcupine bag - it's awesome. It looks like it had a metallic snout and leather quills. The muted color of it is beautiful. Almost more sculptural than functional I think. What would one wear with this one?

This pink beaded and sequin purse is sweet.

A wedding dress and bag to match. Lovely.

Leather bags abound.

John took this shot - a Ferrari bike - boy heaven! (I like it too)!

Venetian glass and chandeliers

Stylish!

This store was closed, and these shoes are arranged perfectly in the entrance way.

Ultra modern interior and old Rome exterior. An exquisite combination.

The clergy gets to window shop, and shop too, of course. This store was filled with Sunday best.

A few good ceilings

Being in these churches is to be surrounded 360 degrees by something beautiful to look at.

Fabric Paradise - Bassetti Tessuti in Rome

Bassetti Tessuti from Lonely Planet

Address Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 73, Centro Storico

Phone tel: 06 689 23 26 (info)

Keyword art/craft

Hidden away in a run-of-the-mill palazzo (palace), Bassetti Tessuti is a sprawling, technicolour temple to textiles. From fine Italian wools and silks, to cheetah-print faux fur, a jaw-dropping 200,000 fabrics line its endless sea of soaring, cracked rooms. Brothers Emidio and Lorenzo Bassetti set up shop in 1954, serving everyone from couture royalty to needle-savvy homemakers.

It's a fabulously atmospheric place, caught in a retro time warp of linoleum floors and wizened old men pushing cart after cart of rare and luscious threads.

I found the listing above on the Lonely Planet Web site before we left for the trip. We were in the neighborhood one day so we searched for the store and found it. This place was fabric paradise - it was a maze of rooms with different types of fabrics. We were there just before 1 pm when they close for lunch so we didn't have a lot of time to browse. The people were gracious, pointing us to the room where we'd find fabric for dresses (even though we didn't ask - they just guessed we might be looking for dress fabric). After we went to the end of the store and started back to the front the staff quietly put out the lights of the rooms behind us without making us feel like we'd been imposing on their lunch time. We did, however, get the hint that it was closing time!

John snapped these photos for me as I was too busy being a tourist in the store. You can click on the photos to enlarge them - Enjoy.