On Tuesday, Italy proudly exhibited a remarkable piece of its rich history: renowned Etruscan frescoes, originally adorning a tomb, which the Culture Ministry recently purchased for a hefty $17 million as part of its initiative to reclaim significant cultural treasures.
The acquisition, announced by the ministry in May, saw the purchase of these 4th-century fresco panels from the Torlonia family, one of Italy’s storied noble families. This family has long safeguarded a vast yet largely unseen collection of antiquities.
The Francois Tomb, which yielded these exquisite frescoes, was unearthed in 1857 by French archaeologist Alessandro Francois in Vulci—a region owned by the Torlonia family. It stands as one of the significant archaeological discoveries of the time.
In 1863, the intricate frescoes were removed from the burial site and became part of the private Torlonia collection. Meanwhile, the tomb’s various treasures were dispersed among Francois, his colleagues, and the Torlonia family.
Since 1921, the Italian government has been striving to reclaim the tomb, reflecting its broader mission to recover artefacts and antiquities that were either purchased or unlawfully removed during the fervor for archaeological exploration in the 19th century and later.
The Etruscan Civilization occupied swaths of what is today central Italy for centuries was a major Mediterranean trading power. Much of it was destroyed by the subsequent Roman Empire.
The tomb is opening to the public Wednesday at Rome’s Villa Giulia National Etruscan Museum.
Alongside the fresco panels are jewels, Etruscan vases and other items that were discovered inside the tomb, now belong in museum collections around the world and were loaned to Italy for the exhibition.
The tomb marks the Culture Ministry’s third major acquisition this year of expensive, culturally important artworks.
It paid $14.9 million for Antonello da Messina’s “ Ecce Homo” and around $35 million for a rare portrait by Caravaggio depicting Maffeo Barberini, the future Pope Urban VIII.
The funds have come from the ministry’s annual budget for acquisitions, but Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli has prioritized buying fewer, bigger-ticket items of cultural importance rather than smaller, lesser artworks and antiquities, officials said.
“In recent months, the Ministry of Culture has invested a great deal of money in acquiring masterpieces,” said Massimo Osanna, director general of Italian museums in the ministry.
Giuli has said the tomb is a “fundamental” part of Italian history that was now being returned to the Italian public to enjoy.
Luana Toniolo, director of the Villa Giulia museum, called the tomb one of the greatest masterpieces of antiquity and Etruscan painting, and one of the best preserved.
Among other things, the paintings depict the sacrifice of Trojan prisoners and battles of Etruscan heroes.
“It is a vast book of stone and color that tells us about families, warriors, gods and heroes — both Etruscans and Greeks — and recounts Greek myths reinterpreted through an Etruscan lens,” she said.