Tarquinia National Museum

The Tarquinia National Museum (Museo Archeologico Nazionale Tarquiniense) is an archaeological museum in Tarquinia, in the Province of Viterbo, northern Lazio, Italy, dedicated to the Etruscan civilization. It is housed in the Palazzo Vitelleschi in the medieval historic center of the city. The museum holds particular significance because its collection consists primarily of artifacts excavated from the Necropolis of Monterozzi, located to the east of the city, one of the most important Etruscan burial sites. Since December 2014, the museum has been managed by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage through the Polo museale del Lazio, which became the Direzione regionale Musei in December 2019.

The Palazzo Vitelleschi was constructed between 1436 and 1439 for the cardinal of Corneto, the former name of Tarquinia. After the cardinal's death, the palace served as a stopover for popes. The Soderini family later became its owners and converted it into a hotel. In 1900, the city of Tarquinia acquired the building and donated it to the Italian state in 1916, with the intention of establishing a museum. The Tarquinia National Museum opened in 1924, formed from the merger of the Municipal Collection and the private collection of the counts Bruschi-Falgari. The collection was subsequently enriched by numerous finds from the ancient city of Tarquinia and the Necropolis of Monterozzi.

The museum's collections encompass well-documented Etruscan and Roman remains, with a particular strength in funerary art and material culture. The holdings are organized chronologically across three floors of the palace. The ground floor displays stone artifacts and sarcophagi from the mid-fourth century BC, while the first floor presents pottery from the Villanovan culture through the Classical period, including indigenous bucchero ware and imported ceramics. The collection also includes Etruscan bronze coins, Roman gold coins discovered at Gravisca (Tarquinia's ancient harbor), gold jewelry, and votive offerings. A distinctive feature of the museum is its display of reconstructed tombs with original frescoes transferred from the painted tombs of the Monterozzi necropolis.

Among the museum's most significant works is the Sarcophagus of Laris Pulenas, an important inscribed sarcophagus displayed on the ground floor alongside other notable sarcophagi from Tarquinia's leading families, some carved from Greek marble. The first floor features the Bocchoris vase, an Egyptian ceramic piece from the Twenty-fourth Dynasty, alongside Attic black-figure and red-figure pottery from the fourth century BC. The ballroom houses coin collections and gold finds from Gravisca. The second floor preserves restored frescoes from several famous Monterozzi tombs: the Tomb of the Triclinium, the Tomb of the Bigas, the Tomb of the Olympic Games, and the Tomb of the Ship. The hall of weapons displays the Cavalli Alati, a relief of winged horses that once decorated the Ara della Regina, an Etruscan temple in Tarquinia dating to the fourth century BC. The museum also features tomb reconstructions including the Tomb of the Leopards and the Sarcophagus dell'Obeso.

The museum occupies the Palazzo Vitelleschi, situated on Piazza Cavour within Tarquinia's medieval town center. The palace itself is a significant Renaissance structure built between 1436 and 1439. Its three floors serve distinct exhibition purposes: the ground and first floors contain chronological displays of stone and ceramic artifacts, while the second floor forms a square porch offering views over the city and surrounding countryside. This top floor houses the transferred frescoes from the Monterozzi necropolis, taking advantage of the natural light and elevated position for viewing these painted works.

The Tarquinia National Museum is located in Tarquinia, Province of Viterbo, in northern Lazio, Italy, at Palazzo Vitelleschi on Piazza Cavour. The museum is an Italian state institution, currently managed by the Direzione regionale Musei of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage. Its official website is accessible through the Italian cultural heritage portal. The museum serves as one of the most important institutions dedicated to Etruscan civilization, drawing visitors interested in the archaeological heritage of ancient Tarquinia and its necropolis.