The Etruscan necropolis of Madonna dell’Olivo lies a couple of kilometres south-west of Tuscania, commanding a view over the valley of the Marta river. Its name derives from the adjacent church, but the site itself is far older. Etruscan burial grounds were often placed on elevated, liminal land, neither quite of the living nor wholly of the underworld, and this one follows that tradition, its tombs cut into the tufa rock. Here, the dead were housed in chamber tombs, sometimes carved to resemble the interiors of Etruscan houses, complete with benches and doorways. The landscape is quiet, scrubby, and open; the tombs sit low, as though the hill itself had been honeycombed. It is a place that asks for patient looking, not hurried visits. The Marta river, visible below, has witnessed centuries of passage, and this necropolis, unshowy, unguarded, remains one of the more evocative remnants of Etruscan habitation in the region.
Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.
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