• Volterra: One of Dodecapolis's ancient centers, Volterra has a medieval core still surrounded in places by the old Etruscan city walls. The best section encompasses the 4th-century-B.C. Porta all'Arco gate, from which worn basalt gods' heads gaze mutely but protectively over the valley. The Museo Etrusco Guarnacci here houses hundreds of funerary caskets and the Shadow of the Evening, a tiny bronze youth of elongated grace.
  • Populonia: Once an important Etruscan ironmaking center, the coastal settlement of Populonia today retains some excellent tumuli and fascinating tombs in necropolises dotting either side of the road leading to Populonia's promontory. It's still the only Etruscan burial coast ever found beside the sea.
  • Sarteano: To really get a feel for life and death in the Etruscan Age, visit the tiny Tomba della Quadriga Infernale just outside town, whose ancient frescoes make Renaissance art look like a recent paint job. Only unearthed a decade ago, the unique tomb was painted 300 years before Christ and remains remarkably intact.
  • Chiusi: The small but well-regarded archaeological museum here contains just some of the many finds from the dozens of tombs littering the valley floor between the town and small Lake Chiusi. The town's underground Etruscan tunnels, known as the Labirinto di Porsenna, are also visitable on a daily guided tour.
  • Orvieto: Orvieto, Etruria's ancient religious center, contains three archaeological museums. Taken together, they make up one of the best collections of Etruscan artifacts outside Florence and include Umbria's only accessible tomb paintings, now detached, and works from the Etrusco-Roman period. The town also runs tours of some of the tunnels and caverns under the city, parts of which, including wells and a possible temple, were carved by the Etruscans. Around the edge of the city's walls is a tidy suburban-like necropolis of tombs, some still with inscriptions on the door lintels.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.