The François Tomb enters state heritage. Great exhibition at the Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia from 25 June
A journey that began more than a century ago, when as early as 1921 the State expressed its interest in acquiring
Key points
The famous François Tomb of Vulci officially becomes part of the World Heritage of the Italian State. One of the most important masterpieces of Etruscan and ancient painting will thus be definitively consigned to full public enjoyment and will find its permanent location at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia. With the signing of the deed of sale, which took place today at the MiC in the presence of Minister Alessandro Giuli, a process that began over a century ago, when the State expressed its interest in the acquisition of the François Tomb as early as 1921, thus comes to completion.
Giuli: Ministry's willingness to invest confirmed
"The acquisition of the François Tomb represents an extraordinarily valuable result for the national cultural heritage and bears witness to the Ministry of Culture's commitment to strengthening public collections by returning fundamental works of our history to the community," says Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli. "With this act, the State acquires one of the most important masterpieces of Etruscan painting and ancient Mediterranean art, definitively consigning it to public use and scientific research. The François Tomb is an identifying testimony to the Etruscan civilisation and the central role it played in the cultural formation of ancient Italia. This acquisition confirms the ministry's willingness to invest in the protection, valorisation and accessibility of cultural heritage as a common good and an instrument of shared knowledge'.
The cost of the operation
A monument that is fundamental for the knowledge of the Etruscan civilisation and the figurative imagery of the ancient Mediterranean is thus brought back under public protection. The operation, worth a total of 15 million euro, represents one of the most important investments made in recent years by the MiC in the field of heritage acquisitions. The acquisition was made possible thanks to the collaboration of the heirs of the Torlonia, Sforza Cesarini and Gaetani families, owners of the work, and the joint work of the General Directorate for Museums, directed by Massimo Osanna, and the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia, directed by Luana Toniolo. Also present were the head of the MiC Cabinet Valentina Gemignani and the head of the department for the enhancement of the cultural heritage Alfonsina Russo.
The François Tomb
"Discovered on 1 May 1857 by the archaeologist Alessandro François in the grounds of Prince Alessandro Torlonia, in the Ponte Rotto necropolis at Vulci, the tomb is excavated in tuff and consists of thirty-seven painted panels and two stone cippus found in the access corridor. Created between 340 and 320 B.C., it represents one of the highest testimonies of Etruscan painting and, more generally, of ancient painting that has come down to us,' reports the MiC. The pictorial decoration of the François Tomb constitutes an extraordinary interweaving of Greek myth, Etruscan historical memory and the construction of Vulci's aristocratic identity. Through inscriptions painted alongside the characters, the scenes still allow us to recognise names, faces and episodes that interweave history, legend and the representation of power.
Among the most famous images is the large panel with the sacrifice of the Trojan prisoners at the tomb of Patroclus: Achilles appears in the centre, while the Greek myth is reinterpreted according to Etruscan sensibilities through the presence of the demon Charun, with bluish skin and armed with a hammer, accompanied by the winged figure of Vanth. On the opposite wall is instead depicted the liberation of Caius Vibenna by his brother Aulus and Macstarna, identified by tradition with the future king of Rome, Servius Tullius, in a scene of exceptional historical and political importance. Completing the cycle runs the longest known animalistic frieze of antiquity, populated by griffins, lions, panthers, deer, wild boars and other real and fantastic creatures, testimony to the extraordinary artistic quality of the work.
