There are various reasons for the fascination that we feel for the Etruscans, one of these being their unexplained provenance. And the language, which is largely not understood, of this historically not so distant community in the heart of Europe contributes to the mystery. Also the wealth of the Etruscans, as is known from their magnificent graves and from written sources, stands in remarkable contrast to their disappearance from European history.

In the exhibition, the development of the Etruscan culture will not be presented as the rise and short culmination followed by the subsequent steady decline of a civilization, but instead as a process of continual change. Encouraged by the Greeks, the Etruscans readily absorbed influences from the entire Mediterranean region into their own culture. From the 3rd century BC onwards, they were part of the Hellenistic world. At the same time the Etruscan merged into the Roman culture, thereby leaving their mark, which can still be identified today.

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