Discover the burial traditions of the ancient Etruscans

NECROPOLIS OF SAN CERBONE

Tour time: 1 hour

San Cerbone, one of the Etruscan necropoleis, is located near the Visitor Centre (Podere San Cerbone) in the lower part of the Archaeological Park of Baratti and Populonia.

You can visit the necropolis on your own, learning all about the site from the bilingual text panels, or, in July and August, tour is accompanied by an expert guide, whose cost is included in the price of the ticket; tours follow a regular daily timetable. For further information, ask to the ticket office.

During the tour you will see different types of Etruscan tombs, from the princely mounds such as the Tomba dei Carri, to the aedicula tombs such as the Tomba del Bronzetto di Offerente, through to the later cassone and sarcophagus tombs.

The guided tour helps understand the burial rituals and traditions of the Etruscans and the evolution of funerary architecture at Populonia between the 7th and 5th century BC.

What you need to know before the tour

The tour of the Necropolis of San Cerbone takes place outdoors so you should bring a sun hat or an umbrella, depending on the season, and wear comfortable shoes.

From July 2022 it is possible to access the Tomba dei Carri, which has been restored.
Visits to the Tomba dei Carri are permitted only if accompanied by a guide and there is a low-roofed, narrow corridor (dromos) that leads to the burial chamber in the heart of the tomb.

 

NECROPOLIS OF LE GROTTE

Tour time: 2 hours

Starting from the Archaeological Park of Baratti and Populonia Visitor Centre, walk along the Via delle Cave to reach the Necropolis of Le Grotte, which you can visit on your own, getting information from the panels.

Located on the wooded hill overlooking the Gulf of Baratti, this necropolis was used between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, when San Cerbone had already become an industrial district of Populonia.

In the area around Le Grotte there are rock-cut chamber tombs that alternate with quarry faces where “panchina”, soft local sandstone used for centuries as a construction material to build the tombs of the necropolis of San Cerbone and the structures erected on the Acropolis in Etruscan times, was extracted.

What you need to know before the tour

It is a 40 minute walk to the necropolis of Le Grotte, partly uphill, the first part in meadowland and the second part in woodland. We recommend that you wear closed or trekking shoes and bring a sun hat or umbrella, depending on the season.