Tarquinia is a lovely old town on the highway south of Rome, one of the oldest and most important Etruscan cities, and an UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its wealth of artifacts and famous necropoli. It was an important commercial center as early as the 8th century BC, wealthy because of its control of the minerals and mines in the nearby Tolfa hills, and its nobles produced a long line of kings of ancient Rome before the advent of the Roman empire.

The National Archaeological Museum of Tarquinia houses an unprecedented collection of ancient Etruscan art, including the frescos of the Tomb of the Leopards, which together with the Necropolis of Monterozzi forms the largest document of all ancient painting before the Romans. The museum is housed in the beautiful Vitelleschi Palace, which is itself interesting because it was built in the 15th century by incorporating nearby existing buildings, houses, and city walls, all overseen by various architects who very obviously didn’t talk to each other.