From the 9th century BC to today
Our history
Twenty-five centuries of history on Rome's doorstep.
The Banditaccia necropolis stands on the tufa plateau north-west of ancient Caere, one of the most important city-states of Etruria. Its oldest tombs date back to the 9th century BC (Villanovan period); the area continued to be used as a burial ground until the 2nd century BC, in the Hellenistic-Roman age. Since 2004, together with the necropolis of Tarquinia, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. (Demo editorial text, based on public sources.)
- IX sec. a.C.
- the oldest tombs
- 20 ha
- extent of the necropolis
- 2004
- UNESCO inscription
Caere's city of the dead
Banditaccia began as the burial ground of the powerful Etruscan city of Caere. Over seven centuries, from the Villanovan period to the Hellenistic-Roman age, its tombs echoed in miniature the architecture of the dwellings of the living — earning it the name "city of the dead".
A World Heritage site
Since July 2004 the necropolis, together with that of Tarquinia, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A visit means walking through an authentic piece of Etruscan funerary town-planning, among monumental tumuli and burial roads carved into the tufa.