The François Tomb is an important painted

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

tomb from the Ponte Rotto Necropolis in the Etruscan city of

Vulci Vulci or Volci ( Etruscan: ''Velch'' or ''Velx'', depending on the romanization used) was a rich Etruscan city in what is now northern Lazio, central Italy. As George Dennis wrote, "Vulci is a city whose very name... was scarcely remembered, ...

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

, 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 Caelius Vibenna ( Etruscan ''Caile Vipina'') was a noble Etruscan who lived (but see below) and was a brother of Aulus Vibenna ( Etruscan ''Avile Vipina''). Upon arriving at Rome, Vibenna aided Romulus in his wars against Titus Tatius. He and h ...

(whom the Romans believed the

Caelian Hill The Caelian Hill ( ; ; ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Geography The Caelian Hill is a moderately long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill overlooks a plateau from wh ...

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), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

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 Pri ...

). 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 wa ...

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 (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 Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

.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.

See also

References

Sources

Further reading