Tarquinia is an old town south of Capalbio on the E80 highway to Rome with ancient roots dated to the 9th century BC Iron Age, and was renowned as one of the oldest and most important Etruscan cities. The Tarquinii fought the Romans for hundreds of years before being subjugated, and the ancient center with it’s many Gothic, Romanesque, Byzantine, and Baroque style churches, buildings, and towers inside the old city walls are well worth visiting.

The necropoli – the ancient tombs and burial ground – are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the most remarkable of which is the Monterozzi necropolis on the eastern edge of town. The painted walls of the Tomb of the Bulls, the Tomb of the Augurs, and the Tomb of the Leopards, especially, feature beautiful wall paintings of a quality virtually unrivalled elsewhere in the Etruscan world.