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"The Sacrifice of the Trojan Prisoners", a fresco dating from 330–310 B.C., is exhibited successful the reconstruction of the François Tomb, an Etruscan tomb, astatine the Villa Giulia Etruscan Museum successful Rome, Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
Alessandra Tarantino/AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino
ROME (AP) — Italy connected Tuesday enactment connected show 1 of the champion known examples of Etruscan painting, panels from a tomb that it acquired for 15 cardinal euros ($17 million) successful the Culture Ministry’s buying spree of big-ticket pieces of the country's taste heritage.
The ministry announced successful May that it had acquired the fresco panels, dating from the 4th century, from members of the Torlonia family, 1 of Italy’s past noble families whose immense postulation of antiquity has agelong been kept retired of the nationalist domain.
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The Francois Tomb was discovered successful 1857 by the French archaeologist Alessandro Francois successful Vulci, connected onshore owned by the Torlonia family. The frescoes were detached from the necropolis successful 1863 and became portion of the Torlonia backstage collection, portion the contents of the tomb were divided up among Francois, colleagues and the family.
The Italian authorities has been trying to get possession of the tomb since 1921, arsenic portion of its effort to bring backmost into the Italian nationalist patrimony artifacts and antiquities that were acquired oregon looted during the roar of archaeological excavations successful the 1800s and beyond.
The Etruscan Civilization occupied swaths of what is contiguous cardinal Italy for centuries was a large Mediterranean trading power. Much of it was destroyed by the consequent Roman Empire.
The tomb is opening to the nationalist Wednesday astatine Rome’s Villa Giulia National Etruscan Museum. Alongside the fresco panels are jewels, Etruscan vases and different items that were discovered wrong the tomb, present beryllium successful depository collections astir the satellite and were loaned to Italy for the exhibition.
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The tomb marks the Culture Ministry’s 3rd large acquisition this twelvemonth of expensive, culturally important artworks. It paid $14.9 cardinal for Antonello da Messina’s “ Ecce Homo” and astir $35 cardinal for a uncommon representation by Caravaggio depicting Maffeo Barberini, the aboriginal Pope Urban VIII.
The funds person travel from the ministry’s yearly fund for acquisitions, but Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli has prioritized buying fewer, bigger-ticket items of taste value alternatively than smaller, lesser artworks and antiquities, officials said.
“In caller months, the Ministry of Culture has invested a large woody of wealth successful acquiring masterpieces," said Massimo Osanna, manager wide of Italian museums successful the ministry.
Giuli has said the tomb is simply a “fundamental” portion of Italian past that was present being returned to the Italian nationalist to enjoy.
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Luana Toniolo, manager of the Villa Giulia museum, called the tomb 1 of the top masterpieces of antiquity and Etruscan painting, and 1 of the champion preserved. Among different things, the paintings picture the sacrifice of Trojan prisoners and battles of Etruscan heroes.
“It is simply a immense publication of chromatic and colour that tells america astir families, warriors, gods and heroes — some Etruscans and Greeks — and recounts Greek myths reinterpreted done an Etruscan lens," she said.
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Associated Press writer Silvia Stellacci successful Rome contributed.
June 30, 2026|Updated June 30, 2026 10:59 p.m.
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