Monday, May 08 – Visiting the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum
 |
| Etruscan burial urn - sarcophagus for ashes after cremation |
We
toured the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum for more than an hour. It’s a pretty spectacular place –
located over three floors housed within an impressive palazzo. The museum dates from the 17th
century and the main collection is from Mario Guarnacci, who lived in the early
1700s. The first floor shows
Etruscan artifacts from pre-history, with emphasis on the 9th to 5th
century BC. The largest part of
the collection is carved funerary urns and boxes – some from tufa, others from
alabaster. The museum contains a
marvelous statue – L'Ombra della Sera – the Evening Shadow – and many small
bronze statues, mirrors and coins.
On the top floor are mosaics, vases and vessels and a recreated Etruscan
necropolis. So glad we were able
to see this impressive collection!
There was a display of the interior of one of the hillside necropoli, with artifacts as they were found, and the funerary urns lining the shelves of tufa rock:
 |
| There are 3 floors of urns - grouped by the decorations that adorn the boxes |
 |
| Ulysses in his boat, being tempted by the song of the Sirens (his men are holding him back, safe with wax in their ears) |
There was a display of the interior of one of the hillside necropoli, with artifacts as they were found, and the funerary urns lining the shelves of tufa rock:
 |
| A recreation of the inside of the underground tufa necropolis |
 |
| Bronze handles - love the faces |
 |
| Much of the pottery is influenced by Hellenistic forms and colors, but the art itself has a very modern feel |
The two most famous works in the museum are the Urna degli Sposi and the Ombre della Sera. I was so pleased to see the bronze statue of the elongated man that looks like an evening shadow - but it's not in a very pleasing setting for photos.
 |
| L'Ombre della Sera |
 |
| Urna degli Sposi (Urn of the Married Couple) |
As we left the museum, we were tempted to buy alabaster items, as we had passed a number of intriguing shops along Via Gramsci. We stopped at the shop of a woman named Gloria Giannini, who is a local Volterran artisan and bought three vases. The colors of the alabaster are gorgeous -everything from pure white to honey gold to grey and black veined.
 |
| Entrance to the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum - founded in the 1700's! |
 |
| Alabaster artisan Gloria, signing the pieces we purchased |
 |
| Gorgeous lamps, containing a number of the natural colors of alabaster |
 |
| Unworked pieces of alabaster and tools of her trade |
No comments:
Post a Comment