Chiusi - National Etruscan Museum

(Local Name: Museo Nazionale Etrusco) On the east side of Chiusi, in a building modeled on an ancient temple, is the Museo Nazionale Etrusco (National Etruscan Museum), which has a rich collection of Etruscan material and Greek pottery recovered from excavations in the Chiusi area. Notable items include ash- urns, sarcophagi, bronze and pottery masks, tombstones, amphorae and other vessels. Of particular interest are the Canopic jars, with lids modeled in the form of a portrait of the dead person, and the cippi (gravestones with relief ornament). The museum offers an excellent insight into the life of the Etruscans, their cult of the dead, their craftsmanship and their artistic sensibility.