.
Chiusi is a town full of history and
culture as well as an important archaeological centre
at an international level. It has Umbro-etruscan origins.
It experienced a period of great expansion between the
VII and V centuries BC; afterwards, it was under the
Roman influence.
As
seat of the Longobard Dukedom in 1765, it experienced
a decay caused by marshland and consequential malaria.
It was first under the influence of Orvieto and then
Siena; for a short period it became a free city before
being surrendered again to Siena and , as a result,
being a part of the Dukedom of Florence.
Going through the main gate with its
Etruscan round-arch form, ruined during the last war,
you reach Via Porsenna, boarded on the right by Medieval
and Renaissance buildings. At the end of the street
spreads out Piazza del Duomo, where the subsoil was
excavated many times and remains of a building that
is thought to have been the dwelling place of Porsena
were found.
In front of the church stands the
Episcopal Palace; on the left, stands alone the Bell
Tower, whose basement dates back to the XIII century;
the most ancient part was probably built with fragments
of buildings bilt during the diocese of the bishop Lanfranco,
who tried to obtain control of Chiusi as count-bishop,
in the XVI century.
The Cathedral was founded by Bishop
Fiorentino in the VI century, completely adjusted in
the XII century and again transformed in the XIX century.
Inside, three aisles without the transept end each one
with an apse. Columns supporting round arches have different
capitals coming from Roman buildings. In the right aisle,
there is a font with a statue of St. John the Baptist
by the school of Andrea Sansovino. Between 1887 and
1894 the church was painted with a sham mosaic by Arturo
Viligiardi, following pre-Christian and Romanesque iconographic
criteria. From the Sacristy you get to the Chapter-House
where some important illuminated codes coming from the
Monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore are kept in a glass
show-case.
Going
away from the church you reach the Town Museum. Since
the beginning of the XVIII century Chiusi has kept drawing
attention to its Etruscan origins and seeking the remains
of its ancient and glorious civilization. Since the
XIX century very important tombs have been discovered.
However, excavations were not always undergone only
by archeologists and scientists, but, sometimes, by
tomb raiders in a hasty and damaging way.
In 1870 the first section of the Museum
was set up with some objects coming from the tombs,
and then enlarged by new gifts. At the beginning of
this century, the Town Museum was built; in 1932 the
rooms were enlarged. The Museum was damaged during the
Second World War and bought by the State in 1963. Its
present setting, open in 1992, is ranged in three sections.
Objects here shown come from excavations in the near
outskirts; that is why they are very important. The
very rare and precious inheritance of the Museum consists
in relief cippi, bucaros, Canopic vases and inscriptions.
#top
