The Return of the Heroes

Built between 340 and 320 BC to celebrate the prestige of the Saties, one of the most important families of the Vulci aristocracy, the François Tomb was discovered in 1857 by the Florentine archaeologist Alessandro François on land belonging to Prince Alessandro Torlonia, in the Ponte Rotto necropolis.

Having been removed from the tomb’s walls and held by the Torlonia family for over a century and a half, its extraordinary frescoes were acquired by the Italian State in May 2026. Their new permanent display at the National Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia is accompanied by an exhibition that brings together the large-scale paintings, inspired by Greek mythology and Etruscan tradition, with archaeological finds and material artefacts.

Alongside the nineteenth-century copies of the frescoes, painted by Carlo Ruspi and on loan from the Vatican Museums, and the drawings by Nicola Ortis held at the German Archaeological Institute in Rome, the exhibition brings together part of the burial goods (which were scattered amongst various collections in the 19th century), on loan from the Musée du Louvre, the British Museum, the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels, and the Musée cantonal d’archéologie et d’histoire in Lausanne. Among the objects on display are, for example, earrings that belonged to the women of the Saties family, gold-foil necklaces, a gold ring depicting Cassandra and two scarabs, a lion-shaped askos and a beautiful necklace with butterfly-shaped pendants.

Before reaching the galleries dedicated to the frescoes, a multimedia introduction guides visitors through an exploration of the tomb and its context. The arrangement of the paintings follows, as far as possible, the floor plan of the main underground chamber, recreating the feel of the original space.

The Return of the Heroes, National Etruscan Museum at Villa Giulia, photo Valentina Sensi