Date:
February 20, 2008
The Etruscans lived during the first millennium BC in an area of
central Italy bound by the Arno River on the north, the Tiber River on
the south-east, and by the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west. The
ancient Romans called this region Etruria. Prior it was absorbed
by the Romans, the Etruscan civilization was one of the most important
in Italy. The Etruscans called themselves “Rasna;” the Romans, however,
called them Etrusci and the Greeks referred to them as Tyrrenoi.
The territory under Etruscan influence reached its maximum expansion
during the sixth century BC when the Etruscans exercised political and
cultural influence over much of ancient Italy.
In
early 19th century, some of the most exciting archeological discoveries
took place in the areas where the most powerful and famous Etruscan
cities had flourished. Those cities were named Veio, Caere,
Vulci, and Tarquinia. Their territories, at the time of the
excavations, were ruled by the Vatican State. For the culture and
the society of the 19th century, this meant the discovery of a lost
world, until then known only through ancient literary documents.
Witnesses of the greatness of this ancient world were the silent
remains of the original monuments that were coming to light in the
deserted countryside and the highly regarded artifacts of that ancient
culture, which were much sought after by collectors since the
Renaissance. This unique and immense patrimony, which emerged as
a result of the almost simultaneous discovery of thousands of tombs in
a period of just a few years, was brought to light by hurried diggers,
who unfortunately did not apply the scientific methodology that was
developed later.
An
important and historically quite relevant consequence of this great
period of archeological discoveries was the creation of the “Museum
Gregorianum ex monumentis hetruscis.” This Museum, the first one
to be dedicated to the Etruscan civilization, was created by Pope
Gregory XVI in 1837; it houses the archeological findings of those
first excavations.
Because
of its very special location in the Vatican Palaces, it can be said
that the Gregorian Etruscan Museum is a museum within a museum.
In fact, it is located in the Palazzetto del Belvedere of Innocent VIII
Cibo (1484-1492), designed by Pollaiolo, and in the Apartment of the
Tor dei Venti (Tower of the Winds) of Pius IV Medici (1559-1565), whose
construction was started by Michelangelo and Girolamo da Carpi, and was
completed by Pirro Ligorio.
Today,
the Gregorian Etruscan Museum, which is part of the Vatican Museums,
includes
22
rooms. These rooms provide an opportunity to come face to
face with the history of the Etruscan people that spanned over 1,000
years. The exhibits include ceramics, bronzes and gold and silver
pieces from the 9th to the first century BC. Among these are
unique pieces which are critical to the understanding of the history of
art in ancient Italy; they also demonstrate a flourishing handicraft
industry, as well as a highly developed artistic civilization.
The
presentation follows a chronological order; some of the most important
exhibits are highlighted.
The
introduction covers some of the oldest exhibits, dating from the iron
age (9th-8th century BC). This is the period which saw the
development of the most important cities of historical Etruria.
The representational style of early Etruscan art (proto-Etruscan) is
primarily abstract; it includes strict geometrical ornamentations which
make use of symbols and figures whose most profound significance still
escapes us.
During
the Eastern-Style ("Orientalizing") period (720-580 BC), Etruria
experiences significant economic growth; in addition, Etruria also
experiences a real “jump” from one age to the next by participating in
a wide cultural phenomenon affecting the whole Mediterranean region,
involving movement of people and goods, as well as technological
exchanges and contacts. At the time when Homer was writing
poetry, the attention of the Etruscan “Princes” was at the same time
directed towards the courts of the ancient Near East, attracted by
riches and goods, but also by the symbols of power and ritualism. The
tomb of
Regolini-Galassi
from Cerveteri, which is a prized exhibit of the Gregorian Museum
because it is the most important grouping of funerary objects ever
discovered in Etruria, displays all the marks of a regal tomb.
Its luxurious content
represents
the most effective summary of the essential elements of the
Eastern-style culture, with its highly developed technical skills, its
use of precious materials, and the tendency towards the monumental.
It
is during the same period that the Etruscan goldsmith’s art makes a
sudden appearance with its perfect and unmatched technology. The
workmanship is so elaborate and minute that it can be appreciated only
when seen through a microscope, an optical instrument surely not yet
known to the ancient craftsmen.
The Eastern-style period is also the time when the “bucchero” is
created, a typical Etruscan type of ceramic.
Bucchero
ware conical bottle, on which was inscribed one of the first
reproductions of the Etruscan alphabet.
The
presentation then moves on to the next period, the Arcaic period
(580-480 BC), with examples of Etruscan bronze objects, ceramic pieces
both local and imported, and architectural terracottas. The Greek
cultural influence is obvious in the iconography, the ideals of the
ruling elite, and in the representation of the sacred.
The
Classical period (480-330 BC) coincides with the time in which Etruria
was undergoing a profound crisis, both political and military. However,
the appreciation was still there for the best of the classical Greek
style, as demonstrated by the importation of the masterpieces of the
ceramographers from Attica, as well as by the works created by well
known Etruscan artists, such as the Mars from Todi.
The
Ellenistic period (330-30) witnesses the gradual expansion of the
dominance of Rome into Etruria, up to the total assimilation of the
Etruscan nation. The Ellenistic art continues to show the same
stylistic elements as in the 4th century BC: humanization of
religious themes, appreciation of subjects with an idyllic or anecdotal
background. The objective naturalism is replaced by the
exploration of all facets and degrees of the psychological and physical
aspects of man.
With
the aid of sarcophagi and urns, the presenter then illustrates
mythological themes, juxtaposing them with images from hell as
represented in the Etruscan demonology. During the period
of the clash with Rome, the tombs also reveal themes related to the
Etruscan political class. Through funerary and votive sculptures,
one can gleam the beginnings of what will be the Roman portraiture:
idealized and typological portraits will represent closer and closer to
the real features of the individual. A terracotta head found in
Cerveteri anticipates all the individual features, including the less
flattering ones, of the realistic portraiture of the time of Sulla and
Caesar. This shows that the Etruscan-Italic world has become by
now part of the Roman culture not only with regard to historical
events, but also in the language of artistic expression.
TECHNICAL
INFORMATION:
The conference is a general presentation of the Etruscan civilization
through the most significant works exhibited at the Gregorian Etruscan
Museum. On this occasion pieces of jewelry, those among the most
famous, will also be discussed. The conference will include Power
Point images.
---------------------------
Dr.
Maurizio
Sannibale has a degree in arts with a major in archeology. From 1986 to
1996 he worked on restoration projects in the Vatican Museum's
restoration laboratories, studying ancient craftsmanship techniques and
restoration methods employed in the 18th and 19th centuries. He has
been the curator of the Vatican Museumís Etruscan Antiquities
Division since 1996. He has published many articles, including Le
urne cinerarie di eta ellenistica, Museo Gregoriano Etrusco, Cataloghi 3
(Roma 1994) and Le
armi della collezione Gorga al Museo Nazionale Romano, Studia
Archeologica 92 (Roma 1998).
Dr. Stella
Nunziante Cesaro is President of SMATCH-Italia.
She graduated in physics and chemistry from the University of Rome
La Sapienza and is First Researcher of the Italian National Research
Council. She received two grants from NATO to study at the
University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Nunziante Cesaro is the
author of many publications and articles on cultural heritage and
regularly works on museum projects. She is an expert on infrared
spectroscopy, a methodology that she has applied to the study of
precious stones.
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