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Comune di Tarquinia
Tarquinia's town square with the city hall (Palazzo Comunale) on the right.
Coat of arms of Tarquinia
Coat of arms
Tarquinia is located in Italy
Location of Tarquinia in Italy
Country Italy
Region Lazio
Province Viterbo (VT)
Frazioni Tarquinia Lido
 • Mayor Mauro Mazzola (PD)
 • Total 279.50 km2 (107.92 sq mi)
Elevation 132 m (433 ft)
Population (May 2010)
 • Total 16,630
 • Density 59/km2 (150/sq mi)
Demonym Tarquiniesi
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 01016
Dialing code 0766
Patron saint Madonna di Valverde
Saint day Saturday of May
Website Official website

Tarquinia, formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Italy, known chiefly since it was (mis-)named after the ancient city of Tarquinii (Roman) or Tarch(u)na (Etruscan), although it was built across the valley on the opposite hill to that city, and overlies some of its widespread ancient cemeteries. Little is visible of the once great wealth and extent of the ancient city, but archaeology is increasingly revealing glimpses of past glories.


The plateau of Civita, where the ancient city was located, lies to the northeast of the modern town.
The medieval city walls of Tarquinia. The Tyrrhenian Sea is visible in the distance.

Tarquinii (Etruscan Tarch(u)na etc.[citation needed]) is one of the most ancient of Etruscan cities; the ancient myths connected with Tarch(u)na (those of its eponymous founder Tarchon - the son or brother of Tyrrhenos - and of the infant oracle Tages, who gave the Etruscans the "disciplina etrusca"), all point to the great antiquity and cultural importance of the city; and the archaeological finds bear out that Tarquinia was one of the oldest Etruscan centres which eclipsed its neighbours well before the advent of written records. It is said to have been already a flourishing city when Demaratus of Corinth brought in Greek workmen. It was the chief of the twelve cities of Etruria.[1]










Tarquinia DOC[edit]


Main sights[edit]

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Etruscan Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
A fresco in the Etruscan Tomb of the Leopards.
Type Cultural
Criteria i, iii, iv
Reference 1158
UNESCO region Europe
Inscription history
Inscription 2004 (28th Session)
  • The Etruscan necropolises, with some 6,000 tombs, 200 of which include wall paintings. The main site is the Necropolis of Monterozzi, with a large number of tumulus tombs with chambers carved in the rock. The scenes painted include banquets, with dances and music, sporting events, occasional erotic and mythical scenes. There are also carved sarcophagi, some dating to the Hellenistic period. Famous tombs include the Tomb of the Bulls, Tomb of the Augurs and the Tomb of the Leopards. During the second half of the fourth century sculpted and painted sarcophagi of nenfro, marble and alabaster came into use. They were deposited on rock-carved benches or against the walls in the now very large underground chambers. The earliest sarcophagi are carved with the image of the deceased supine on the lid. The later and more numerous types show him or her reclining on the left side, facing the spectator and frequently holding a libation vessel; occasionally a man displays an inscribed scroll listing his ancestry and the magisterial offices he occupied. The stone boxes were decorated with reliefs of symbolic or mythological content, often derived from Tarentine models. Sarcophagi of this type, which continue until the second century, are found in such numbers at Tarquinia that they must have been manufactured locally. The walls of the tomb-chambers of the late period are painted with underworld demons escorting the dead on their journey to the beyond, scenes in the nether world, processions of magistrates and other symbols of the rank of the eminent members of the families buried there.
The Palazzo Vitelleschi houses the Tarquinia National Museum.
The church of Santa Maria di Castello
  • The small church of San Martino (12th century)
  • The numerous medieval towers, including that of Dante Alighieri
  • The Gothic-Romanesque church of San Pancrazio

Twin towns[edit]


  1. ^ a b c Chisholm 1911, p. 430
  2. ^ Livy, Ab urbe condita, 2.6-7



External links[edit]