The Etruscan necropolis

A people believing in life after death

Outside Volterra are the necropoles of Portone, Badia, Ulimeto and Ripaie.
Throughout the centuries, these areas have been the subject of many important archeological excavations, the results of which are now stored in the Guarnacci museum, one of the most important museums about Etruscans in the world.

This ancient people strongly believed in life after death, which is why they buried grave goods in the tombs along with the bodies, so that they could use them in their afterlife. Finding all these daily objects allowed us to find out more about our ancestors’ lives and habits.

At the end of the 18th century, only two Etruscan tombs from the Hellenistic period out of the hundreds present in the Marmini area were still there. Their structure is very simple, with chambers dug into the ground without any of the decorations that characterise the Etruscan tombs of other cities.
This is where the urns with the people’s ashes and their grave goods were buried. They are now displayed in Volterra’s Guarnacci museum and in other Italian and European museums.

How to get here: free access. It’s on the road going down to Prato d’Era from Volterra. The area is signposted and easy to access. Easily accessible also by foot from Volterra’s city center.