The Necropolises of Cerveteri and Tarquinia, inserted onto the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004, constitute a unique and exceptional testimoney of the ancient Etruscan Civilization, the only urban civilization of the pre-Roman Age. These tumuli or burial mounds reproduce the homes in their various types of constructions; because they were built to mirror the Etruscan habitation itself, they are the only examples left of such in any form anywhere.
The two necropolises of northern Lazio are identical replications of the Etruscans' urban grid. The necropolis of Banditaccia in Cerveteri was developed from the 9th Century B.C., and then expanded beginning with the 7th Century. Similar is the developmental history of the necropolis of Monterozzi in Tarquinia. Both the painted tombs of the nobles and those in more simple styles are singular and extraordinary testaments to Etruscan quotidian life, as well as their ceremonies, mythology and even their artistic capacities.
