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Concept
Tarquinia
Summary
Tarquinia (tarˈkwiːnja), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status.
In 1922, it was renamed after the ancient city of Tarquinii (Roman) or Tarch(u)na (Etruscan). Although little is visible of the once-great wealth and extent of the ancient city, archaeology is increasingly revealing glimpses of past glories.
The Etruscan and Roman city is situated on the long plateau of La Civita to the north of the current town.
The ancient burial grounds (necropoleis), dating from the Iron Age (9th century BC, or Villanovan period) to Roman times, were on the adjacent promontories including that of today's Tarquinia.
Tarquinii (Etruscan Tarch(u)na) was one of the most ancient and important Etruscan cities; the ancient myths connected with Tarchuna (those of its eponymous founder Tarchon—the son or brother of Tyrrhenus—and of the infant oracle Tages, who gave the Etruscans the disciplina etrusca), all point to the antiquity and cultural importance of the city. Basing on archaeological finds, Tarchuna eclipsed its neighbours well before the advent of written records. It is said to have been already a flourishing city when Demaratus of Corinth brought in Greek workmen.
Descendants of Demaratus, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, became kings of ancient Rome. Numerous Roman religious rites and ceremonies derived from Tarchuna, and even in imperial times a collegium of sixty haruspices continued to exist there.
The emergence of Tarchuna as a trading power as early as the 8th Century BC was influenced by its control of mineral resources located in the Tolfa Hills to the south of the city and midway to the Caeretan port of Pyrgi.
In 509 BC, after the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the family of Tarquinius Superbus went into exile in Caere. He sought to regain the throne at first by the Tarquinian conspiracy and, when that failed, by force of arms.
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