November 11 - Civitavecchia, Italy for Tuscania and the Etruscans and Lake Bracciano

We are back in the port of Civitavecchia, where we boarded the ship 18 days ago.  The most common siteseeing to do while at this port is to go into Rome for the day.  Since we spent several days there before boarding the ship, we choose to go inland to check out the ancient civilization of the Etruscans and also see some of the beautiful countryside by the famous Lake Bracciano.

We were part of a group of 8 from the ship using the private tour company, Joe Bananas Tours.  Our guide/driver for the day is Marco and we meet him right outside the ship at 8:00 am to begin our day's adventure.

We drove to the town of Certeveri to visit the Etruscan Necropolis or City of the Dead.  The Etruscans populated central Italy long before the days of Rome's greatness, then almost disappeared from history.  The Etruscan Necropolis is the site of the most beautiful and well-preserved tombs of the ancient world.

Aerial view of the Necropolis

In this place, ancient Etruscans about 2,500 years ago prepared their dead for the afterlife.  Like the Egyptians, they believed the afterlife was a journey that required they be dressed in their finest clothes and jewels.

The Etruscans dug down through a volcanic rock field and shaped the domes that became the roofs of the individual tombs, which resembled homes.  They were all carved out of the volcanic rock, not assembled.

We entered several of the tombs.

There were beds where the bodies would have been laid in their burial shrouds.

Unlike the Egyptians, the Etruscans did not mummify their dead so nothing remains today.  After the burial, large boulders were rolled over the entrance sealing the tomb until the next family member died and was placed inside with their family.

One of the tombs we visited had 19 "beds" and was decorated with relief drawings.

We then visited the museum which holds the artifacts that were discovered inside the tombs during the excavations.

What is left of a pair of shoes

Next we drove through the countryside to Lake Bracciano, which is a huge volcanic lake.

Perched on a hill overlooking the lake is the Castello Odescalchi Di Bracciano, built in the 15th century.  The castle is huge and is in terrific condition.  It was the site of the wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.
 

Marco guided us through the castle.  The paintings, furnishings, and ceilings were beautiful.

Isabella Medici was made to marry into the Orsini family at a very young age.  She hated her husband and when she was older she was in the habit of taking lovers.

After she was done, legend says she asked them to leave by a side door.

When they opened the door, she gave them a shove and they fell down to the armory below and were impaled by the swords.

The armory

The view from the balcony on the roof  of the castle was spectacular.

We then headed down the castle steps to the kitchen for the castle.

Nothing was cooking here and it was lunch time so Marco drove us to the restaurant, Trattoria "La Rocca" high upon a hill in another castle for our final activity for the day.

The menu was entirely in Italian and our group tried to make sense of what the various entrees might be.

With the help of a very kind waitress who spoke English, we selected Tonnarelli al tartufo nero di Norcia and Pappardelle al sugo di cinghiale for our entrees.

and that would be.... Tonnarelli with black truffle

and  Pappardelle with wild boar

Both selections were excellent and we enjoyed a delicious and relaxing meal with our small group of friends.

And then it was time to return to the port.  This was a very enjoyable day and an excellent alternative to going into Rome for a day.

Next port.....we return to Livorno, Italy and head to Florence!