Art and History, our origins
VOLSINII, ANCIENT CAPITAL OF THE ETRUSCAN STATE
Pliny called it extremely opulent: Valerius Maximus wealthy, ornate in its customs and legislation, leader of the Etruscans; Florus the most civilized of all the cities of the Tuscan confederation. The Etruscans originally occupied the region between the Tiber and the Arno, which from them took the name of Tuscany. Their period of maximum splendor lasted until the 4th century BC. Subsequently, they were absorbed by the Romans, with Volsinii (Orvieto) the last city to resist. Among the ancient peoples of pre-Roman Italy, the Etruscans are those who have most attracted modern interest due to the extremely high artistic level they achieved and the limited knowledge of their language, which offers no points of contact with any other known language… Even the ancients were unable to explain the presence of this powerful and refined people in the fragmented and often crude panorama of the peoples of pre-Roman Italy. The historian Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BC, attributed the origin of the Tyrrhenians (as the Greeks called the Etruscans) to a mythical founder, Tyrrhenus, who moved to central Italy after fleeing a remote region of Asia Minor. Conversely, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, another Greek author writing in the 1st century BC, attributed the Etruscans to Italic origins.
Finally, the Latin historian Livy, a contemporary of Dionysius, believed the Etruscans had a northern origin, having arrived in Italy from Central Europe. Today, we know much more about the origins of that people. The Etruscan civilization derives directly from the Villanovan civilization, which was widespread during the Iron Age (9th-8th century BC), precisely in the areas where the Etruscan civilization flourished. The remains of this civilization, found, like the Etruscans, primarily in tombs and necropolises, testify to strong influences from Nordic populations, particularly the Celts, which are also found in Etruscan art, especially in the earliest periods. Subsequently, starting in the 8th century BC, a change began to be observed in the artifacts from those regions, and there was a gradual transition to that type of art, characterized by very strong and evident Greek influences. The Etruscans, therefore, can be defined as the successors of the Villanovans, permeated by the influence of Greek art, which had arrived in Etruria from Magna Graecia. Although a culture originating in Italy, therefore, the Etruscan civilization presents itself as strongly influenced by Eastern, and particularly Greek, influences. The predominant social structure among the Etruscans was the city, which had social and architectural characteristics similar in many respects to those of Greek cities, particularly the great care with which the gates of the defensive walls were decorated, with large squared stones. Like the Greek cities of Magna Graecia, the Etruscan cities were also linked together in leagues: of particular importance, because handed down to us by the sources, is the one that united the twelve cities of Velzna or Volsinii (ORVIETO), Vulci, Volterra, Veio, Vetulonia, Arezzo, Perugia, Cortona, Tarquinia, Cere, Chiusi, and Roselle.
Between the 7th and 6th centuries BC, Etruscan cities reached their peak expansion, and in 540 BC, a mixed fleet of Etruscans and Carthaginians defeated a Greek fleet off the coast of Alalia, Corsica, putting an end to Hellenic expansion into the northern Tyrrhenian Sea. However, the moment of the great naval victory at Alalia also marked the culmination of the Etruscan civilization. A few years later, in 510-509 BC, Rome, which until then had been ruled by an Etruscan monarchy, the Tarquins, freed itself from this influence and began a policy of expansion into Etruscan territory: Pompeii and Capua were lost starting in 505. From the 5th century, the center of gravity of Etruscan civilization shifted entirely north. Between the 4th and 3rd centuries, Etruscan civilization collapsed: Veii was conquered by Rome in 396, Tarquinia and Cerveteri fell between 356 and 311, Perugia, Arezzo, Cortona, Vulci, and Volsinii (present-day Orvieto) fell at the beginning of the 3rd century. Each Etruscan city was ruled by a king.
Many of the insignia of power of the Etruscan king were later adopted by the Roman state to designate the power of the higher magistrates, the consuls and the praetors: the golden crown, the ivory throne, the sceptre adorned with an eagle, the tunic and the purple cloak woven with gold, and finally the lictors, originally bodyguards who always accompanied the king, carrying on their shoulders the sign of his power to punish, that is, the bundle of rods with the axe, which they called the fasces. Two aspects of Etruscan society most struck Greek observers: first of all, "the role of women, who, unlike what happened in Greece, actively participated in social life; secondly, the wealth and luxury that characterized the lifestyle of the Etruscan ruling classes." In Etruscan society, banquets (or symposiums) were of enormous importance, as demonstrated by the fact that the deceased were often depicted on sarcophagi lids as if they were participating in a banquet, reclining on the characteristic triclinium-like couch. The Etruscans also experienced an extraordinary artistic flourish. Etruscan art is characterized by a marked realism and reflects their joie de vivre and love of everyday pleasures, such as banquets, activities, and sports. Above all, however, the Etruscans appreciated music: the sound of the flute and the lyre accompanied all their daily activities, even the simplest ones. Their funerary art is also unique, originating from necropolises, particularly famous among which are those of Cerveteri, Tarquinia, Chiusi, and Orvieto, with their underground chamber tombs, and those of Norchia, with their cave tombs. The funerary furnishings and paintings allow us to discover a rich, even opulent society.
Many of the insignia of power of the Etruscan king were later adopted by the Roman state to designate the power of the higher magistrates, the consuls and the praetors: the golden crown, the ivory throne, the sceptre adorned with an eagle, the tunic and the purple cloak woven with gold, and finally the lictors, originally bodyguards who always accompanied the king, carrying on their shoulders the sign of his power to punish, that is, the bundle of rods with the axe, which they called the fasces. Two aspects of Etruscan society most struck Greek observers: first of all, "the role of women, who, unlike what happened in Greece, actively participated in social life; secondly, the wealth and luxury that characterized the lifestyle of the Etruscan ruling classes." In Etruscan society, banquets (or symposiums) were of enormous importance, as demonstrated by the fact that the deceased were often depicted on sarcophagi lids as if they were participating in a banquet, reclining on the characteristic triclinium. The religious practice for which the Etruscans were most famous, even in antiquity, was haruspicy. The Romans even called it Etruscan discipline, referring to the special ability of Etruscan priests to have a privileged relationship with the gods and to recognize ominous omens to prevent them from generating negative events. Thus, in the Etruscan world, the ability to divine the future through the interpretation of signs, which could be meteorological events such as lightning, rain, and wind, or the flight of birds in a particular area of the sky, grew and developed into a true art.
According to the Latin writer Publius Terentius Varro (1st century BC) and others, their principal god was Vertumnus, a deity depicted in various ways and whose main cult center was the sanctuary of the "FANUM VOLTUMNAE" in Volsinii (ORVIETO). Every year, the Etruscans gathered at Volsinii to celebrate religious rites, games, and events. The FANUM, in addition to hosting Panetruscan festivals and games, was also a meeting point for the kings of the twelve Etruscan cities, where they gathered to make the most important political and religious decisions.
