Day two of excursions started underground and finished high on a hill. Our agriturismo was located only a few miles from Chiusi, which is one of the larger known Etruscan settlements. Though their origins are a mystery, the Etruscans dominated central Italy from around 900 B.C. until their final city was overthrown by the Romans in 264 B.C. Resistors were killed while the others married into the Roman culture. Most of what researchers know about the Etruscans comes from their tombs. The tomb was your home for the afterlife, fully furnished with all of your belongings. It was not uncommon to be buried “lying across a couch, spooning with your wife, a smile on your face, living the good life for all eternity”. It was even customary that they hold a dish with an offering for the spirits. We visited three of these tombs out in the country that dated from around 500bc. Our agriturismo is even built over two very modest tombs. The tombs we visited however, were definitely for a noble family with many rooms and several large sarcophagi.
After stopping through a couple of smaller towns we finished high up in Civita di Bagnoregio. Civita is another town with its origins from the Etruscan times as the main gate dates back to around 600 B.C. The town literally sits in the middle of a canyon, connected only by a foot bridge. The foot bridge you see in my photos was built in the 60’s after the original path was bombed in World War II. Locals told us Americans obliterated it when they thought they saw some Germans milling around in town. And it wasn’t until after the war that running water was even brought to the town. Today less than 100 permanent residents exist and most are in their eighties we’re told. It was our last stop, late in the day, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Spooky!
