The François Tomb is an important painted

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

tomb from the Ponte Rotto Necropolis in the Etruscan city of

Vulci Vulci or Volci (Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Velch'' or ''Velx'', depending on the romanization used) was a rich Etruscan civilization, Etruscan city in what is now northern Lazio, central Italy. As George Dennis (explorer), George Dennis wrot ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, in central Italy. It was discovered in 1857 by Alessandro François and Adolphe Noël des Vergers. It dates to the last quarter of the fourth century BC. The tomb seems to belong to the Etruscan family of the Saties (or Seties) and one of its chief occupants is Vel Saties, who appears with his dwarf, Arnza. Its outstanding frescoes are significant both iconographically and also in terms of their comments on Etruscan history and identity. Contemporary portrayal of a toga picta

The tomb contains a fresco depicting Caelius Vibenna (whom the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

believed the

Caelian Hill The Caelian Hill (; la, Collis Caelius; it, Celio ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Geography The Caelian Hill is a sort of long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill over ...

was named after) and Mastarna (a legendary figure whom the Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

identified with

Servius Tullius Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned from 578 to 535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome ...

). The tomb paintings include a representation of 'Marce Camitlas' (Latin equivalent 'Marcus Camillus') about to draw his sword against a crouching 'Cneve Tarchunies Rumach' ('Gnaeus

Tarquinius The gens Tarquinia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, usually associated with Lucius Tarquinius Priscus and Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the fifth and seventh Kings of Rome. Most of the Tarquinii who appear in history are connected in some w ...

of Rome'). The ancient histories of Rome do not include any reference to a 'Gnaeus Tarquinius'. The frescos were removed by Prince Torlonia soon after their discovery and were kept in the

Torlonia Museum The Torlonia Museum ( it, Museo Torlonia; not identical with the Villa Torlonia on the Via Nomentana) was a museum in Rome, which housed the Torlonia Collection (''Collezione Torlonia'') of ancient sculptures. History The collection of 620 mar ...

(Rome). Since 1946, they have been stored at the private

Villa Albani The Villa Albani (later Villa Albani-Torlonia) is a villa in Rome, built on the Via Salaria for Cardinal Alessandro Albani. It was built between 1747 and 1767 by the architect Carlo Marchionni in a project heavily influenced by otherssuch as Gi ...

in Rome as part of the Torlonia collection. Some pottery vessels from the tomb are now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

.British Museum Collection
/ref> Tomba Francois - Liberazione di Celio Vibenna

References

Sources

*Bloom, Marcia G. 1974. ''The François tomb at Vulci, an Etrusco-Hellenistic monument''. Thesis/dissertation, University of Pennsylvania. *Holliday, Peter James. 1993. ''Narrative and event in ancient art''. Cambridge University Press.

'' *F. Messerschmidt, A. von Gerkan, Nekropolen von Vulci, Berlin, 1930; *M.Cristofani, research on paintings of François Vulci grave. The decorative friezes, in Diala, 1, 1967, pp. 189–219 *S. Steingräber, Catalogue raisonné of Etruscan painting, Milan, 1984, pp. 380–387; *Peter J. Holliday, Narrative structures in the François tomb, in ''Narrative and event in ancient art'', Cambridge, 1988, pp. 175–197; *F. Coarelli, ''Revixit Ars. Art and Ideology in Rome. By Hellenistic models to the republican tradition'', Rome, 1996, pp. 138–178; *S. Steingräber, Etruscan frescoes, from the geometric to the Hellenistic period, San Giovanni Lupatoto, 2006, pp. 68 et seq; {{DEFAULTSORT:Francois Tomb Etruscan artefacts Etruscan tombs Archaeological sites in Lazio 1857 archaeological discoveries Vulci

References

Sources

Further reading