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| Villa Giulia, Etruscan Museum in Rome |
Rome is
definitely one of the best place to be a
history student….or teacher.
Many years ago when teaching at international schools in Rome,
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| vintage photo with students |
the history books supplied from the USA practically ignored the Etruscans and Romans thus an ad hoc curriculum was created. Rome was our campus, our library, our textbook: Rome's Villa
Giulia museum and Tarquinia and Cerveteri’s museums and necropoli became extensions of the classroom for on site learning.
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| Etruscan bucchero - reproduction by Mastro Cencio |
At Villa
Giulia the kids sat on the floor and spread themselves out with notebooks, pens and pencils to sketch artifacts
and fill in study sheets about the Etruscan civilization.
The stern
guards were quite taken aback then, but nowadays this up close and familiar way of
learning at a museum is
considered acceptable.
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| Palazzo Vitelleschi, Tarquinia's Etruscan Museum |
For Tarquinia the best plan was to start on the top floor of the museum and work down to the entrance, skipping the
“boring” rooms where hundreds of black
and red figure vases were set in glass
cases, including an entire room of vases decorated with very graphic erotic scenes.
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| erotic vases at Tarquinia Museum |
Teaching youngsters
about Roman civilization involved
difficult choices: should we go to Castle Sant’Angelo, Ostia Antica or the Museum
of Roman Civilization in EUR?
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| model of the Flavian ampitheatre Museum of Roman Civilization, EUR |
Lucky students who visit the Colosseum, Pompeii and Herculaneum at 10-15 years of age understand history in a deeper way and remember it for the rest of their lives. A fascination for the past developed as a youngster occasionally becomes a life choice, a former student, now history professor at Oxford, has told me.
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| cut away of Castle Sant'Angelo |
The best season
for visits to Etruscan, Roman and medieval sites in the Italian countryside is the
winter while the vipers are still hibernating
and the sun’s rays are lenient.
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| Cerveteri, one of the top 10 Etruscan sites |
Independent travelers, students and teachers can find more practical tips for visiting Etruscan sites in central Italy in the several books I have published.
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| the painted tombs of Tarquinia |
Happy exploring!
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| rock hewn tombs of Norchia (ph. J.F.Sims) |
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| Doric facade, Norchia |
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| little known Etruscan necropolis of Norchia, Vetralla |
Have you visited any of the above places as a student or independent traveler?
