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Palazzo Grassi, in Venice, offers a huge exhibition
dedicated to the Etruscan civilization, organised by the Arch. Francesco
Venezia and scientifically managed by Prof. Mario Torelli.
The
show unwinds through thirty-three halls, starting with the reconstruction
of a court Symposium on the ground floor, in the middle of which, in
the light pouring from above, stands Henry Moore’ Figura spezzata [broken
figure] sculptured in black marble in 1975, as a tribute to Etruscan
art, and ending with finds which convey a successful picture of this
extraordinary civilisation, from its origins to its apogee and to its
final decline with the Roman conquest, which started in the year 396
with the fall of Veio.
A
rigorous chronological sequence which ranges from the pre-Villanovian
and Villanovian finds exhibited in the first four halls, to the twenty-six
halls dedicated to the apogee and finally to the last four halls dedicated
to the decline.
We
have seven hundred finds coming from about 80 different sources, including
museums, collections and cultural institutions in thirteen different
countries.
The
country offering the greatest number of finds is Italy, with over 400
pieces coming from the collections of 46 lenders.
Among
the works on show, the tallest one is the statue of the so-called Haranguer
coming from the Florence Archaeological Museum, which is one metre eighty
tall. On the other hand, the item which stands out in weight is the
Sperandio Necropolis sarcophagus supplied by the Perugia National Archaeological
Museum, which with its two meter length reaches a weight of 1,400 kilograms.
The
history of the Etruscans is a history of wars and travel, towns and
markets, religion and mysteries, works and great architectures, such
as the sewerage (the Roman first-level sewerage was Etruscan) and plumbing
systems, the mine galleries etc.
A
people which, also in ancient times, captured the interest of writers
and historians such as Herodotus and Dionysius of Halicarnassus.
There
are currently three different hypothesis as to their origins, which
are however still uncertain. Some say they came from the Far East, some
from the Alps, during one of the many migrations of earliest Indo-European
peoples, and some say that it was an autochthonous people which, having
come in touch around the 8th century with more advance peoples, such
as the Greeks and the Phoenicians, broke away from the Villanovian civilization.
Indeed,
there is one thing that the Villanovian and Proto-Etruscan civilisations
have in common, and that is incineration replacing the earlier interment
tradition. Stimulating themes provide the exhibition with a sacral atmosphere,
ranging from the deep amaranthine which can be perceived everywhere,
to the flitting of birds which have just flown up under the searching
eyes of augures and haruspices, and the clash of bronze swords, lances
and shields, together with mysterious words. Among these seven hundred
finds, we have the Golden Scarab from Egypt, which is one square centimetre;
the reassemblage of the Chariot from Castel San Mariano, which has been
split up among various museums ever since 1812, the year in which the
auction took place, and are now altogether at last. From the Villanovian
period, among dozens of Spools and Serpentine Arc Fibulae, we have a
wonderful Cinerary Urn from Vulci dating back to the 8th century, a
Bronze Helmet and a very modern Double flask.
We
have finds of valuable workmanship displaying exceptional sophistication
in the Bronze Cinerary Urn from the Olmo Bello di Bisenzio Necropolis
dating back to the years 730/700 B.C., where the figurines on the cover
present a great perfection in details.
In
the twenty-six halls dedicated to the apogee (from the 8th to the 4th
century) the visitor is struck by the richness and sumptuousness of
this people, where women played an extremely high role, a leading role
both in society and politics. In the war hall we find Hemispheric Hood
Helmets, and more lances, swords, and greaves, round helmets, and the
reconstruction of a Biga [two-wheeled chariot] dating back to the early
4th century.
We
must remind the reader that all the Roman symbols of power, ranging
from the lictor fasces to the curule chair and to the crown of laurel,
are Etruscan, and that the “lituus”, the spiral curved staff, is still
in use.
Among
the tribes that made up the earliest Rumanian population, two were Etruscan,
the Luceres and the Titienses, together with the Ramnenses.
The
theme relating to the cult of the dead is here represented by the famous
examples of the Vulci Francois Tomb (330 B.C.) from the collection of
the Torlonia Princes.
You
will also find articles belonging to every-day life, burial statues
of couples lying in amorous postures and also a whole sector dedicated
to writing which we partly still do not understand: suffice it to mention
the Tabula Cortonensis and the golden Pyrgi Laminae from the 5th century,
with a dedication to the Astarte Goddess (Uni etrusca), whose author
is Thefarie Velianas, King of Cere.
(traduzione
Interpres sas-Giussano)
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