Palazzo Pretorio - Museo dell'Accadémia Etrusca

The Palazzo Pretorio in Cortona houses the Accadémia Etrusca, which was founded in 1726. The museum contains Roman and Egyptian antiquities as well as Etruscan material. Its greatest treasure is a famous Etruscan bronze lamp of the fifth century B.C. Notable among the Etruscan bronze statues are a figure of Jupiter hurling a thunderbolt ("Giove Tonante") and winged goddess (both seventh-sixth centuries B.C.). The Egyptian section of the museum displays a rare funerary boat of painted wood (12th Dynasty, c. 2000 B.C.), sarcophagi, etc. Also of interest are the collection of coins and medals, ceramics and paintings by Italian masters, mainly of the 13th-17th centuries. On the east side of Piazza Signorelli is the rear of the 15th century Palazzo Fierli (main front on Via Benedetti).