Children discovering the Etruscans in Chiusi

In Chiusi history is learnt with creativity

The Valdichiana Senese, in southern Tuscany, is a territory rich in history and charm, where ancient civilizations, such as the Etruscans, lived and then left important testimonies so as to enchant even children and their families. Chiusi, in fact, Touring Club orange flag and among the first and most important Etruscan cities according to Latin sources, offers visitors a fascinating itinerary that starts from the National Archaeological Museum, passes through the necropolis and the labyrinth of Porsenna up to the Civic Museum "La Città Sotterranea".

And it is precisely here that children will be able to discover more about the Etruscans, through two tours for families with creative workshops in writing and drawing, thanks to Valdichiana Living.

Etruscan writing is not easy to decipher, both due to the limited contents found in archaeological finds where only names and numbers can be read, and due to the rather complex characters. In any case, it is a fascinating writing even if only for the graphic representation. What we know for sure is that the Etruscans wrote from right to left continuously, leaving no spaces between one word and another. The epigraphic section of the Civic Museum "La Città Sotterranea" is unique in Italy with 500 inscriptions on cinerary urns and tomb tiles, which has allowed an in-depth study of this language as well as the reconstruction of a real Etruscan registry.
The first part of the tour consists of an introduction to the Etruscans thanks to the support of a multimedia presentation or directly with a visit to the epigraphic section but always with a language suitable for children. We then get to the heart of the tour with the writing workshop during which the children try their hand at reproducing the alphabet and the Etruscan language using wax and clay tablets, small vases or terracotta artifacts, rolls of fabric where they will learn to reproduce symbols, words and short phrases in the Etruscan alphabet.

The other tour as well takes place inside the Civic Museum with "Let's draw Etruscan monsters", following in the artistic footsteps of the Etruscan civilization, we will enter the world of decorations and characters that characterized the Etruscan history of Chiusi, the ancient capital of civilization. Thanks to a photographic support of the archaeological finds contained within the epigraphic section of the Civic Museum, after a brief introductory lesson able to fascinate young and old, the participants will be able to draw their own favorite decorations represented on the cinerary urns of the Hellenistic age, such as figures flowers, paterae, mythological scenes, Etruscan divinities, winged demons, images of banquets, but also other representative figures and images of Etruscan Chiusi, such as King Porsenna and his Mausoleum.

So, have you already set your GPS towards Chiusi?