Archaeology unveiled

Archaeology unveiled in Sesto Fiorentino

Moments of life on the plain before, during and after the Etruscans. From Sept. 29, 2023, to July 31, 2024, at the Ernesto Ragionieri Library in Sesto Fiorentino, the exhibition Archaeology Unveiled opens, presenting part of the princely trousseau from the majestic Montagnola Tomb. The tomb is one of the most important Etruscan monuments in central Italy. Other extraordinary artifacts from the Sesto Fiorentino area complete the exhibition, evidence of a history spanning millennia, from the Neolithic to the Roman age.

This is a unique opportunity to admire relics that are usually not visible because they are kept in storage.

It is an aristocratic treasure that of the Montagnola Tomb, built in the second half of the 7th century BC. It houses the remains of a noble Etruscan family exponent of the ruling class that held control of the territory, activities and roads. By commissioning the construction of these monumental architectures, the family exhibited its social and economic prestige. Similarly, the grave goods, consisting of rare and precious objects, had the function of displaying the many personal, military and political privileges of the deceased.

Although the tomb has been plundered several times, many extraordinarily fine artifacts were found during excavations in the late 1950s. They constitute the main core of the exhibition. Several unguentari, the small vessels used for storing perfumes and massage oils; a gold fibula in the shape of a leech and a tenia, a decorative element, with applied rosettes; decorated and engraved bone statuettes and plaques; numerous ivories and some pyxides; a portion of a folding stool, typical of the Etruscan world; and finally, of particular value, a finely decorated ostrich egg, most likely the central body of a larger vessel, and its ivory base