Civitavecchia- Day 14 Tuesday February 10
Civitavecchia is the cruise port to access Rome, but we know from experience that reaching Rome involves around a 90-minute drive, so we opted to pass on the 8.5 hour bus trip to Rome, especially as today is the oh-so-tedious packing day for disembarkation. And, by the way, as part of our Viking air package, we will disembark Viking Star at 4:15 AM tomorrow. Yes, you read that correctly.
Instead, we chose an afternoon excursion that departed the ship at 2 PM, figuring that we could get most of the packing squared away in the morning, avoid a long bus ride, and enjoy something completely new to us. Sadly, I went alone, as Charlie is still hurting.
It was a treat to enjoy the World Cafe buffet for breakfast and lunch when most of the guests are off the ship!
And now, off to the ancient city of Tarquinia, about a 25 minute drive from the port.
As we exited the port, we passed Forte Michelangelo, named for the artist who designed the central tower.
En route, we passed this very well preserved 1724 aqueduct. It runs for 1.5 km. and was used for about a century.
Our guide noted that these trees should not blossom until early May. As this is a very agricultural area, she expressed concern about climate changes with growing seasons.
Now, the main event: Founded in 449 BC, Tarquinia was the principal metropolis of the twelve cities of the Etruscan League that thrived here long before the rise of the Roman Empire. We explored the Etruscan Necropolises, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Dating from the 7th to the 2nd centuries BC, the necropolis contains about 6,000 burials.
The Villanovan culture (c. 1100–700 BC) was the precursor to the Etruscans. They cremated their dead, and buried them in pods such as these.
In contrast, the Etruscans had a strong belief in the afterlife and shared the Egyptian idea that the (wealthy) dead should be buried with everything that they might need or enjoy in their next life. In Tarquinia, the practice of decorating the tombs of aristocratic families with paintings continued for a long period of time. There are some 200 burial chambers that feature frescoed walls with both magical and religious scenes in lively colors, chosen to bring the deceased back to life. At present, there are 22 hypogea (underground chambers) currently open to the public. We visited three.
The Tomb of the Jugglers:
The Tomb of the Hunters:
and The Tomb of the Lotus:
Here are a few signs for tombs that we did not visit:
Outside the city’s ancient quarters, we visited the 15th-century Palazzo Vitelleschi, whose galleries and cloistered courtyard displayed an extensive collection recovered from the tombs.
Here are some recreated tombs...take your jewelry with you, ladies.
There was quite an assortment of Etruscan sarcophagi. The marble ones are particularly stunning.
The "lids" offer us glimpses into the countenance of the inhabitants.
It is astonishing that these things remained so very well preserved.
These winged terra-cotta horses hint at the high degree of artistry that was prevalent in Etruscan society.
The wealthy Etruscans prized Greek pottery (which they had access to as they lived so close to a merchant port), so lots and lots of pieces were found in their burial places.
And, clearly, some of them had some colorful interests.
We had a half-hour to wander this lovely town, and enjoy the sunset.
Back to the ship by 6 PM to shower and dress for the last supper onboard
Charlie had Lapskaus, a Norwegian beef soup and duck breast, while I chose mushroom risotto and a citrus poached halibut.
Luggage was out before the 10 PM deadline and we set our alarms for 3 AM. yikes!
Photos are tagged Star and Tarquinia
This featured blog entry was written by Cybercsp from the blog Viking Star.
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