No walk this morning – it was raining and quite soggy out. After breakfast, we went to the old part of Chianciano to visit the Etruscan Archeological Museum. The Etruscans of this area were from as early as the seventh to the fifth century BC. Most of the objects that have been excavated were found in underground funeral sites. Since this is a volcanic area, there is much tufa (a soft chalky type of earth that is easy to dig). Many of the objects that were discovered were funerary urns (see photo - note that the head lifts off to insert ashes or bones). A larger funerary urn was in the form of a mother and child (see photo). It is not known whether this was to honor a mother who had died in childbirth or a princely boy who is shown in his mother’s arms. It seems to be a precursor to the Madonna and Child. We left our town and headed to Cortona, another Etruscan hill town. Unfortunately, it was still raining (hard at times) so we didn’t get to explore as thoroughly as we might have on a sunny day. We walked along the Via Nazionale, which is the only level street in the town. At various points along the street there were narrow flights of stairs going downhill (see photo). We ate lunch and then headed back to the hotel. By the time we got back the sun was out and things were beginning to dry up. Tonight we will have a goodbye dinner at the hotel with music and dancing.
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