Description of the attraction
Vetulonia is a small town in the province of Grosseto, located on the site of the eponymous ancient city of the Etruscans. Until 1887, it was known as the Colonnade or Colonna di Buriano. Today, this tiny town, located at an altitude of 300 meters above sea level, is home to only about 200 people.
Vetulonia was founded by the ancient Italic people - the Etruscans. In the 7th century BC. the city, together with the tribes of the Latins, entered into an alliance against Rome, but during the time of the Roman Empire, its situation worsened due to constant epidemics of malaria. Little is known about medieval Vetulonia: then the city was part of the commune of Massa Marittima, and later was transferred to Siena. Only in 1881, during archaeological excavations on the Colonna di Buriano hill, an ancient Etruscan city was discovered. From it to this day, the remains of the city limestone walls of Mure delle Arche (Walls of the Cyclops), dated to the 6-5th centuries BC, and two necropolises, studied in more detail at the end of the 19th century, have survived. In one of the tombs of Vetulonia, iron rods and halberds were found, as well as a gravestone with the inscription "Abe Feluske". Based on the rich equipment of the necropolises, archaeological scientists have put forward a version of the importance of the Vetulonian elite. In total, more than a thousand tombs dating from the 7th century BC have been discovered in the Etruscan city, artifacts of which are today exhibited in the museums of Grosseto and Florence. And the most important tombs in this "richest and most interesting necropolis of northern Etruria" were covered with burial mounds, which are still the dominant feature of the local landscape.
