A reference point for deepening your knowledge of the Etruscans
The Cerite Museum was set up inside the Ruspoli Castle by the architect Franco Minissi, it was inaugurated in 1967, it houses the finds from the Necropolis of the ancient Etruscan city of Caere. In the rooms that host multimedia content created by Paco Lanciani and Piero Angela you can also admire the famous Euphronios Krater. Stolen from the black market, it was purchased by an art dealer who resold it to the Metropolitan Museum for a million dollars.
A visit to the Cerite archaeological museum allows you to follow the different cultural phases of Caere, from the 9th century BC to the age of Romanization. The materials preserved in the museum, displayed in chronological order, come mainly from the necropolises that surrounded the ancient urban center. In addition to the prestigious Eupronios crater, the Kylix with scenes from the Ilioupersis is also exhibited in the rooms. This famous wine cup tells the story of the final phase of the Trojan War; the epic poem it was inspired by - the Ilioupersis, or the fall of Troy - has been almost completely lost. The kylix was made by Euphronios himself but as a potter. This masterpiece of Greek art also comes from Cerveteri. It was found during a clandestine excavation in the sanctuary of Heracles in Cerveteri and sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, Califonia. Following the discovery of a fragment of the kylix during the excavation conducted by the Superintendency for the Archaeological Heritage of Southen Etruria in the sacred area of Cerveteri, it was demonstrated that the vase had been purchased illegally by the Getty Museum, which retuned it in 1998.
