Event: Italy

Etruscan Guarnacci Museum

When:	Daily
Where:	Etruscan Guarnacci Museum
Costs:	€7; concessions €5
Opening Hours:	Mar-Oct: 9am-7pm; Nov-Mar: 9am-2pm

Perched on an isolated hill on the site of an ancient Etruscan city, Volterra has a spectacular view of the surrounding hills. The medieval village owes its reputation to the Etruscan Guarnacci archaeological museum, rich in discoveries made in the region.

The Guarnacci museum is one of the earliest public museums in Europe, founded in 1761 when the noble abbot Mario Guarnacci (Volterra 1701-1785), a collector of antiquities, donated his archaeological collection to "the citizens of the city of Volterra".

The collection includes a unique display of more than 600 Etruscan funerary urns, the decorations of which offer a fascinating insight into this mysterious antique civilisation. Sculpted in alabaster or built in terracotta, like the famous Husband and Wife urn in Room 20 of the museum, they date from the 6th to the 1st century BC. The rite of cremation was almost exclusive to the area of Volterra.

Ceramics, sculptures and various objects dating from Pre-History to Roman Antiquity are also on display. They include, in Room 22, the strange bronze silhouette known as Ombra della Sera, the Night's Shadow. Poet Grabriele d'Annunzio gave it its name because the figure reminded him of the shadow of a man at night. Incredibly modern-looking and resembling the sculptures of Giacometti, the statue was uncovered in 1879 by a peasant labouring his field.