Description of the attraction
The Volumni crypt is an Etruscan tomb located on the outskirts of Ponte San Giovanni, a southeastern suburb of Perugia. The exact date of its creation is unknown, but the crypt is usually dated to the 3rd century BC.
This Roman-Etruscan tomb is part of the large Palazzone necropolis (6-5 centuries BC), consisting of 38 underground crypts and burials carved directly into the rock, as well as a collection of urns and other funerary items. One can get to the Volumni crypt, the most famous of all, by a steep staircase that leads several meters deep into the ground to the gate. Behind the gate is a vestibule with decorated ceilings, which in turn leads to four small side chambers and three larger central chambers. To the right of the front door is an Etruscan inscription consisting of three vertical lines. It is she who gives reason to assume that the remains of the Volumni family, a noble Roman family, lie in the crypt. In a huge hall with a gable roof, there are three small chambers, a burial in the form of a cubicle and a tablinum room at the back. The latter contains five urns - one marble and five of white limestone. The oldest and most significant urn, crowned with the image of the deceased lying on the triclinium, contains the ashes of Arunt Volumni, the head of the family. At the bottom of the urn are carved images of two immortal deities with wings that guard the gates to Paradise. The Volumni crypt was used for its intended purpose until the 1st century BC, and then it was abandoned for many centuries. It was discovered only in 1840 during the reconstruction work of Via Assisana, which connects Porta San Giovanni with Perugia.
