The history of Tarquinia, the mother of the Tuscia region, identifies itself with that of the Etruscan people. Its foundation alone that was carried out by the legendary Tarconte (of Tarchna) was made sacred by the prodigous apparition of the maiden Tagete, who was born from the turfs of Tarquinia. Within the context of the twelve Etruscan cities, Tarquinia, has always enjoyed a certain amount of supremacy and prestige that the others did not have. Although greater traces of human presence on land is noticeable in the prehistoric age, it is not until the X, but more importantly the IX centuries that the inhabitants from different villages around Civita gathered together to give life to that complex social aggregation that we today call city. Only the rich villanovian necropoli can be seen and the remains of the villages that originate from them. By the VIII and VII centuries B.C. Tarquinia was a rich and powerful city and it transformed its economy. Even though it remained an agricultural dimension it became an active commercial and industrial centre (metals, raw materials, bronze and ceramics). Its political supremacy extended over a vast area, inland as far as the Cimini Mountains and Bolsena Lake. In the VI century while trade was still active in the Far East and Greece as the sea emporium at Gravisca proved, the ford on the Tiber dominated, a focal point for commercial transit from central Italy, making Rome, Rome of the Tarquini (616-509B.C). Even though the V century crisis was strongly felt, members of the Spurinna family (Larth, Velthur, Åulus) renewed the intense political feeling and attempted to impose their own leader in the Etruscan League against Roman expansion. By now Rome was at the gates and the war between the two cities was a violent one with extremely ferocious episodes in 394 B.C. which involved other Etruscan cities. The long war of 351-358 B.C. ended with a forty year armistice at the end of which the war began again only to end in defeat in the year 308. In 281 B.C., Tarquinia had to succumb to Rome and began its gradual decline. So when Scipione asked the Etruscan cities to make their contributions to his African enterprise against Hannibal in the year 205, the once rich and powerful city only had fabric to offer for the sails. While Rome removed portions of vital land, especially land by the sea, ancient tributary inland centres gradually became independent. In 90 B.C. it became a minicipium. Its aristocracy disappeared or moved to Rome and it was symptomatic that the last member of the Spurinna family (who had always been educated on the interpretation of the future) became Caesar’s friend and tried in vain to warn him of the ill-fated Idi of Marzo. With the death of G. Caesar and later on that of the empire the history of Etruscan Tarquinia ended.
Ten centuries of history have left deep tracts both above and below the sacred soil of Tarquinia. Few, but monumental are the remains of the once living population on the calcareous plains of Civita (150 hectares), today there is no trace of a home. A part from the long belt of wall (8 km) in macco blocks (V cent. B.C.) Porta Romanelli is clearly visible in the north), there are portions of near to recent archeological excavations. The main monument is the temple of Ara della Regina, the biggest in the Tuscia region, where the famous terracotta winged horses come from (III cent. B.C.), which are more than just an emblem of Tarquinia. They can be found in the museum.
The remains of the dead are numerous and more fascinating.The thousands of tombs that are concentrated in the long and parallel hill of Monterozzi contained precious and interesting museum exhibits. A large number of these are painted and present a picture gallery of ancient, mediterranean and italic art. Every art book remembers the tomb of the Panthers, of the Bulls, of Hunting and Fishing, of Wishes, of Lionesses, of Barons, of Jugglers, of the Hunter, of Cardarelli, Giustiniani, Bartoccini, of the Flogging, of Leopards, of black Sows, of Sheilds, of the Ogre with a sweet picture of Velia Velcha: "the monna Lisa" of antiquity, of Lilies, of Congresses, of Aninas and last of all, but by no means the least, (because of its late discovery) that of the blue Demons, not yet open to the public. They are tombs that date from the I-VI centuries and are the oldest proof of Italian pictorical art and are a fascinating relic of the greatest of ancient classical paintings.
The thousand years of Etruscan Tarquinia are well illustrated in the rooms of the Renaissance building of Vitelleschi. A national museum that collects thousands of exhibits, such as vases, and villanovian objects, Etruscan and Greek ceramics, with unique masterpieces, sarcophaguses and bronze objects, jewels and sculptures, ex-voto and coins. Four chamber tombs have been reconstructed, the paintings of which (during their era) were "torn" using a special modern technique employed by the ancient hypogeums.They are: the tomb of the Olimpiadi, of the Ship of Triclinio, and of the Bighe (end of V-VI cent. B.C.).