Etruscans for Eternity on display in Terminal 1.

Travellers arriving into Rome's Fiumicino airport will be greeted with three Etruscan sculptures on loan from the National Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia.

The exhibit includes two travertine cinerary urns from Perugia and a sarcophagus lid from Tuscania featuring effigies of Laris Afle, Arnth Acsi and Larth Cales - three men, probably aristocrats - who lived in the second century BC.

The ancient urns are decorated with scenes from Greek mythology, from the Seven Against Thebes and Oedipus mourning his sons to the sacrifice of Iphigenia by her father Agamemnon.

The Etruscan civilisation flourished in central Italy between the eighth and third century BC before being gradually assimilated by the Romans.

All’Aeroporto di Fiumicino arriva #Etruschi per l’Eternità, un’esposizione che presenta tre #sculture etrusche provenienti dalle collezioni… pic.twitter.com/BpQvyByXTJ— Aeroporti di Roma (@AeroportidiRoma) December 16, 2024

The Etruscans for Eternity exhibit in the arrivals area of Terminal 1 is the result of a collaboration between the National Etruscan Museum, Italy's Directorate-General of Museums and Rome airport manangement company Aeroporti di Roma.

At the launch of the display on Monday, Villa Giulia director Luana Toniolo said the initiative is designed to "take the museum outside the museum, to high-density places such as airports to create "oases" of beauty and to invite people to reflect on the cultural heritage that belongs to each of us".

The cultural project continues a tradition by Fiumicino of displaying archaeological artefacts, including statues discovered during excavations in 1939 at the ancient Roman harbour of Portus.

Photo Il Messaggero