Itinerary 1 CERVETERI

 

The Latin name of the city (Caere, pronunced Kaireh) reflects not only its Etruscan name (Kaisra in the 5th-4th centurics B.C. Keisra in the 2nd century B.C.) but also the Phoenician name (Kaisra in the 5th century B.C.). The name coined by the Greeks, Agylla, was somewhat different although still usinforms which are Etruscan in origin (Kairea, Kaire).It may be supposed that thls.Etruscan name originally referred to .an aristocratic group and then procecded to be used to indicate the pame of the city.  It is worth noting that the Greek version was in practice also adopted in the Latin language.

However, the legend of the founding of Caere by the Pelasgians, a mythical people of Greek descent, was widespread in the sixth century B.C. This legend was favoured by the peopie of Caere themselves, as they were interested in establishing a good reputation with the Greeks.  This particular link did not prevent, however, direct confrontations between Caere and groups of Greek colonists.  An example of this is the navál battle which occurred around 540 B.C. against the Phocaeans, settled in Corsica.  This battle, althdugh resulting in an Etruscan victory, did not result in the

 

Cerveteri

 

Grecce itself, in as much as the city possessed its own building in the sanctuary ai Delphi.  Here it dedicated gifts to the god, according to a custom typlcal of many Greek citics.  The sanctuary of this Etruscan Caere, located near the port of Pyrgi, was sub'ected to attacks by the Greeks from Syracuse who in 384 B.C. sacked it and obtalned a very rich haul.  Cacre was already strengthening its own contacts with Rome during these years.  However, these lessened during the course of confrontations between the Etruscan world and the Latin city at the beginning of the 3rd century B.C. This resulted in the confiscation of part of the territory, in which, at an early date, colonies were founded: Castrum Novum in 264 B.C., Pyrgi and Alslum in 247 B.C., Fregenac in 245 B.C. Subsequently (from the Ist century B.C.) it became the location of the residences of rich patrician Romans, including that of Pompey and Caesar at Alsium.  The city then declined in the imperial period, finally becoming a settlement of little importance.  The archaelogical finds may allow us to piace together the pieture supplied by the literaíy sources.  The occupation of the plateau on which the city is located occurred gradually, as is shown indirectly

loosening of tles between Caere and by the Iron Age cemeteries of Sorbo and by tbc Cava di Pozzolana, in the course of tbc 9th and 8th centuries B.C., taking advantage of a naturally defensive posítlon and of an enviro,nment sultable for agriculture and stock-raising.

Objects found in the cemeteries, which come from other centres in Etruria, from nuraghie Sardinia and from Campania, show that the community was also involved in exchange.  The cemeteries, which were established, in tbc 7th century B.C., ori tbc plateaux of Banditaccla and Monte Abatone, adjacent to the city, show the explosion of richness and the qualitative Icap which occurred at tbc beginning of the 7th century B.C. (the orientalising phase). The city, whose structures passed from being huts to houses, also started to colonise the surrounding region, to which it was connected             by a dense road network (starshaped, roads going towards the sea, towards the interior, and towards Lake Bracciano). 

The organisation of the territory foresaw settlement units of various sizes.  They were destìned, however, to exploit the avallable resources to tbc full, as ìs shown by tbc numerous examples of hydraulic enginecring work (tunnels, wells, viaducts). Which were designed to rationallze the water resources.  The city ' and its associated territori had a place within an even broader system, and were involved in commerce both with the interior (towards South Etruria) and overseas (through the ports of Pyrgi and Alslum), rapid[y acqu-lring an international dimensioni as is shown by the confrontation with tbc colonists of Phocaca r,nentioned above.

At Cacre 'n this period (the second half of the 6th century B.C.) there were workshops of Greek and Etruscan craftsmen.  Tbey were producing pottery and architectural decorative elements which were distributed not only locally but also throughout tbc territori and to Rorne.  In addition, both tbc city of tbc living and the city of the dead were organised, in urban terms, by the creation of roads and squares. However, the íncreasing power of Cacre suffered a setback in tbc encounter between tbc navy of Syracuse and the Etruscan one at Cuma in 474 B.C. A period of regression followed.

this, as may be seen in particular in the partial depopulation of the countryside, noted not only for Caere and its region, but also for other centres in South Etruria.  The resumption of commercial activity however, cannot have been delayed significantly, given that only 90 years after Cuma the treasure of the sanctuary of Pyrgi was a tempting object for .the Syracuse fleet.  The richness of the votive deposits in the sacred area of Caere is emphaslzed also by the remarkable finds made in the urban area.  These date from the 4th century B.C., a period which is also characterised by the emergence of a new


aristrocracy, identifiable thanks to the aristocratic tombs, built in areas which prevlous urban development had left free (for example, the so-called tombs of the Commune).  The city was subject, however, at an earlier date than other Etruscan cities, to the process of romanisation.  This may be seen in the iounding of maritime colonies, as already mentioned, and shown also by the archaeological evidence of the sanctuary of Pyrgi, which was abandoned in the 3rd century B.C. The use of the latin language was also quickly introduced into the tomb inscriptions.  It is documented from 270 B.C. by the inscription of the Roman magistrate, C. Genucio Clusino, recently found in a possible cult context in the urban area.  It was also in this area that the most imporrant buildings of Roman Caere were located, includine the theatre, the amphitheatre, the basilica, the curia, and various temples, all of imperial date.  They have provided us with statues and inscriptions.

The exploration of the archacological area of Cerveteri, which in the last century was left to the iniziative of private individuale, has produced an enormous array of finds, which are now dispersed in a vast number of muscums, especially abroad.  Systematic excavations, promoted by the State from the beginning of the 1900's, concentrateci initially upon the cemeteries, with most remarkable results.  Only recently has research been extended towards the urban area.

 

 

The cemetery

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cemetery arca of Banditaccia was connecred to the city by a road cut into tbc tufa.  Carts clearly went along this for the wheels have caused ruts in tbc friable Banditaccia cemete7-y.- Large Tu27íulus Il rock.  The road is partìcularly clear in an arca outside the present enclosure wall of tbc cemetery (which is a recent struc- itinerari around the enclosed arca, stuture corresponding only in part with tbc dying tbc development of sepulchral arn' i i o ginal topographical plan), along tbc so- chitecture.  This starts rom tbc p't dug called Via degli Inferi, where it is sunk into the tufa in tbc Iron Age (9th-8th ceriinto tbc tufa and flanked along the sides turies B.C.), íntended for tbc placing of by open chamber tombs, dated to the 7th the cinerary urns and the related grave to 3rd centurics B.C. goods (the arca is accessíble from the It is possible to follow a chronological rootpath on the left, between the tumuli);

through the trench tomb with a semibuilt chamber also associated with the earliest tumuli dug into the tufa; to the real chamber tomb, contalned in tumuli of quite grandiose proportions, into which the prevlous form soon developed.  These tumuli, which are decorated with carved cordons and bands, elements perhaps of eastern origin, contain more than one tomb.  An example of this is the Large Tumulus II, which contains four tombs, all belonging to the same family group (including the Hut Tomb, imitating a building of the beginning of the 7th century B.C.; the Tomb of the Deceits, of the second balf of the 7th century; the Tomb of the Greek Vascs, of circa 550 whose plan follows that of a house with an atrium and three rooms with funerary couches, which are cither flat ('males') or have a triangular tympanum ('females').

The Tomb of the Capitals (600-550 B.C.), situated along the main road of the cemetery, has a similar plan, but is enriched by two columns with Aeolian capitals, most probably of castern origin left, in an area spared in previous The Tomb of the Cornice (further on along a minor roadway) with two carved thrones in the vestibule, also has a similar plan. 

 

Between the two, on the development, there is an individual tomb, the Tomb of the Rel . efs, with a hypogeum, of the 4th centùry.  It is a large room with a rectangular plan, with benches along the sides and two pilasters.  It is significant because of the depictions of everyday ob'ects which are on the walls and pilasters.  The characteristic feature further ori, on Via dei Monti Ceriti and Via dei Monti della Tolfa, is cube shaped tombs.  These could, of all the tumuii, be inserted more easily in to regular urbanistic schemes, being con­structed in a row, cach similar to the other.

Followlng the suggested route one then turns towards the Polychrome Tomb, so called because of the way in which the materials used are alternated, and the magnificent Mengarelli Tumulus, with traces of painting in the vestibule, in the chamber and in the funerary chamber (650-620 B.C.). Next to this is the Tumulus of the Colonel, in which the earliest tomb reproduces the form of a hut of the beiinnin2 of the 7th century B.C. Similarly splendid tumuli are preserved outside the enclosing wall.  These include the Tumulus of the Shields and of the Chairs, with the tomb of the same name and, of an earlier date, the Turnulus of the Painted Lions, and the Tumulus of the Painted Animals.  Both of these have traces of wall paintings, although now for the most part lost.  They riproduce however in every small detail the interior of aristocratic houses of the orientalising period.  The later tombs (4th century B.C.) are organised separatele in the so­called Commune area and also belong to arístocratic families.  They are of a type already seen in the Tomb of the Rellefs.

They include the Tomb of the Triclinium, the Tomb of the Sarcophagi, the Tomb of the Inscriptions and, above all, the Tomb of the Alcove, so called because of the innermost room which contains a funerary couch..Nearby there is the Tomb of the Five Chairs (650-625 B.C.). It is unique in its plan and the furnishings it contains, now re-arranged, but known thanks to a nineteenth century drawlng.  In the Sorbo cemetery the Regolini-Galassi tomb must be mention­ed. It was found undisturbed with an ex­tremely rich funerary assemblage, and is of a quite early arclìitectural style, partly excavated into the tufa and partly con­strueted (675-65C B.C.), with a corridor and two side rooms.  The great monu­ment in the area of S. Angelo, composed of two tombs with architectural facades, should also be noted.  One of these, with a barrel vault built with radial cut stones, is dated to the beginning of the 3rd cen­tury B.C. Finally in discussing the cemeteries, one should mention that of Monte Abatone, although it is not coni­pletely excavated and restored, as is that of Banditaccia.  It is particularly interesting because of the Campana Tumulus: two tombs partially overfie each other because of a mistake made in construction in the past.  One (of circa 650 B.C.), with fur­nishings, is carved into the tuia, whúst the other is more recent (circa 550 B.C.) and more modest.  At Monte Abatone there is also the Torlonia tomb which has a monument outside for funerary cult rites and o, hypogeum (c'rca 300 B.C.).

 

 

 

 

BRACCIANO

 

Coming from Rome, Bracciano is 38 km away from the ancient via Clodia that con­nected southern Etruria to the capital city. It rises on the banks of the homonymous, almost circular, lake of volcanic origin, enclo­sed by the Sabatini Mountains.

The lake was always very important because it provided the city of Rome with water. The construction of the first aqueduct in fact dates back to Roman times. lt was destroyed during the Middie Ages, and rebuilt by Pope Paul V, whence its name (Acqua Paola), and it also fed the great fountain of the Gianicolo. Today the lake still provides water for the metropolis, to which it is connected by means of a new conduit. 

For tourists, the lake is a paradise for sailors and surfers, especially since the prohibition of motor­boat navigation. The first Roman settlement, called Forum Clodii, was set up on the hill of San Liberato, and it subsequently became a bishopric. At the time of the Lombard invasion the population moved elsewhere and mingled with the people of Bracciano. The magnifi­cent church of San Liberato should be visited, where the relics of the martyrs Saint Mark, Mariano and Liberato are preserved. Bracciano’s history is tied to the presence of the Orsini family that officially entered into possession of the village during the early fifteenth century and remained there until 1695, year in which the castle was sold to the Odescalchis. It is the castle itself that characterizes the village, making it a destina­tion for ltalian and foreign tourists. It stands on a primi­tive construction dating back to the times of the Prefects of Vico; Napoleone Orsini had the old structure enlarged and began the building as we see it now. The work went on for years, and palace, that started out as a fort also became a civilian residence. The Odescalchi ceded it for a while to the Torlonias but laser bought it back and still own it. The castle rises on a hill of volcanic tufa, and has an irregular quadrilateral shape with five sturdy cylindrical towers at its corners and on the south-western side, decorated with pointed battlements.

Inside there are valuable works of art, such as the Zuccari frescos, the decorations attributed to the Antoniazzo Romano school years, and two marble torsos of Paolo Giordano II Orsini and his wife, Isabella de' Medici.

In the course of centuries famous people have stayed at the castle, such as Charles Vill king of France many popes and the princess Maria Cristina of Sweden.

 

THE TERRITORY AND ITS HISTORY

 

The area that took its name from the Lake of Bracciano consists of the three lake-side municipalities of  Bracciano, Anguiliara Sabazia and Trevignano Romano. 

Geo-topographical and climatic conditions have always favoured to human settlement in the area, which is rich in archaeological finds from the Etruscan and Roman periods.

Many studies indicate, in different places, one of the main Etruscan settlements, Sabate or Sabazia; confirma­tion of the hypothesis according to which this settle­ment was subsequently swallowed up by the lake was given by underwater tests sponsored by the Province of Rome and carried out in the Lake of Bracciano in August 1982, with the help of the submarine F.A. Forrel, under the leadership of Prof. Jacques Piccard.

 

THE SABATINI MOUNTAINS

These modest heights (the highest peak is Mount Rocca Romana, at 612 metres above sea level) are the remains of quaternary volcanic activity (detritus cones and emission centres).  The lake filis a depression of voi­canic- tectonic origin and is not, as is commonly thou­ght, a crater.

 

THE LAKE OF BRACCIANO

 

The ancient Lacus Sabatinus is very interesting from an environmental viewpoint, with its reedy fens full of water creatures and its banks covered in oaks. A bay to the east of Trevignano provides a home for a large colony of otters; the underwater currents feeding the lake are significant.

Until the XVIII century, the water from the lake flowed into the river Arrone and in part into the Paolo aqueduct. After 1700, a dam was built on this river, and the Arrone only collects water from the lake in emer­gency situations.  The Traiano aqueduct, built in Roman times (109 AD) to provide water for a few areas in Rome Trastevere), was re-activated in 1600 under Paul V, from whom it took its name.

It carries the water from many springs (about 40) and ends at the Gianicolo in the water-spout of the great fountain.

Lake fauna consists principally in great flocks of moorhens and wild ducks that drift at the centre of the lake; small beavers populate the banks and reedy fens; there are birds of prey such as brown kites and buz­zards that nest on the rocky heights around the lake.  The fish population consists of pikes, tench, eels and other alpine-lake species; amphibians are represented by frogs. The vegetation on the Sabatino territory is very varied: in the northern and western areas there is an extensive area of woods and on the shores of the lake, despite speculation and environmental neglect, there are even stretches of waterside plants (alders, willows and poplar trees) and of fragmitelo (especially in the marshy area of Pantane di Trevignano that has recently become a national monument).  Large areas are used for mixed planting and kitchen gardening is parti­cularly frequent. The conditions of the lake water have improved remarkably following the construction of a depurator through which all the sewer water of the lakeside municipalities is made to flow.  Motorboat navi­gation has been prohibited for some years now on the lake; this has favoured the practice of water-sports, especially sailing, canoeing and surfing.

 

THE THERMAE

Near the small village of Vicarello there are many archaeological sites, dating back to an time span going from prehistoric times to the imperial Age.  Near the modern hot baths, very interesting buildings were brought to light, pertaining to the Roman Apollinares Novae hot baths.  During the nineteenth century, while the hotel was being built, a "stipe" was discovered, that is, a treasure left to us by visitors to the baths and con­sisting in a great many Greek, Roman and Etruscan coins, as well as a few silver goblets on which the route from Gades to Rome was engraved, and these artefacts are now kept in the National Museum of Rome.

 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS

 

The territory of the Lake of Bracciano is very rich from an archaeological, and even monumental, viewpoint (Muracci di Santo Stefano at Anguillara).  Of the many Etruscan necropolises, unfortunately mostly devastated by clandestine excavations, the one that has given the most interesting material is the Olivetello necropolis (Trevignano). Somet of the rich furnishings discovered in some of the tombs are exhibited in the Etruscan ­Roman Museum in Trevignano (open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10h to 13h).

 

VEGETATION

 

Besides the woods, to be found for brief stretches along the shores of lake, and consisting mainly of alders, willows and poplar trees, and large stretches of fragmi­teto (reeds used for plaiting), on the hills around the lake there are forests of green oaks, chestnut trees and horn-beam.  Both the archaeological and the environ­mental testimonies are part of the safeguarding pro­gramme being promoted by the Consortium of Navigation of the Lake of Bracciano.

 

 

 

TOURIST ITINERARIES

 

Bracciano also abounds in churches: for instance, the Collegiate of Santo Stefano that already existed in 1427, where valuable furnishings, calices, ciboria, reliqua­ries, sacred robes and a sixteenth-century wooden sta­tue of the abbot Sant’Antonio are kept.

Adjacent to the church, there is a magnificent cloister with a central well, dating back to the XVI century, where nowadays painting and sculpture exhibitions are held. We mention also the churches of San Liberato, of the Misericordia, of the Visitation, of Santa Lucia ai Cappuccini and, on the road leading down to the lake, the enchanting littie church of Repose dating back to the late sixteenth century.

The interior of this building stili presents its original integrity and has splendid restored frescos. 

In the sur­roundings Of Bracciano, on the northern shores of the lake, we find the ancient Terme Apollinari at Vicarello, currently closed to the public, and going towards Tolfa we find the hot baths of Stigliano, famous for the health-giving therapeutic effects of its sulphuric water and natural mud.

Groves and woods surround the village and provide a home for many sorts of game, protected in large hun­ting reserves.

Fishing is still widely practised: alpine-lake species, pike and eels are much in request because of their freshness and delicious flavour.  Bracciano is also the site of one of the first and most famous ltalian Artillery Schools Vigna di Valle, on the shores of,, the lake, is the location of the Historical Aeronautical Museum, in which airplanes are kept from the First and Second World Wars, as well as reproductions of Leonardo’s designs and models.

 

The Odescalchi Castle

 

The Majestic Odescalchi Castle, one of the most beaufuld fèudal European manor houses, arises by the southern

bank of Bracciano's lake, at a very short distance from Rome. This construction, ideaI meeting point between civil and military architecture, was built by the second half of 13th century. The visit starts with the magnificent Papal Hall, as in 1481, Pope Sixtus the IV th used to live there, to avoid being caught by the pestilence which was scourging Rome at that time. The stuccoes decorating the two rooms' ceilings, made by Taddeo Zuccari, are of considerable value and peculiar chromatic chromatic effect. Also the third room gets its name from another famous guest, who lived there in 1900: King Umberto the 1st. After the triptych hall and the  Pisanello’s, you can get into the Caesarean hall where you can find the twelve Caesars’ busts displayed along the perimeter of the room.

The whole wall of the Caesarean hall has been painted in fresco by Antoniazzo Romano: on the right side of the fresco is represented the visit to the Castle, Made in November 1487, by  the young Piero de Medici; on the left side is represented the triumphal horse riding of Gentil Virginio Orsini, when he was nominated Captain of Aragonese’s Armi and came with his troops to the Castle, on October 28-1489.

Another considerable hall is the Orsini one. After Isabella's hall ,you can go up to the second floor, where you can get into the Ercole’s hall and in correspondence with the underlying Caesarean’s hall stays the weapons' hall, with its big and significant collection of medieval arms. From the open gallery starts the panoramic tour of the patrol, which links together, the six towers of the castle.

Finally, the smart porch of the court brings to an end the interesting journe of the discovery of Bracciano’s Odescalchi Castle.