Etruscan Architecture
From history we learn very little of this art among them. We know that they were the chief architects of early Rome, that they built the great temple of Jupiter…
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“Architecture” from The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria by George Dennis, 1883.
From history we learn very little of this art among them. We know that they were the chief architects of early Rome, that they built the great temple of Jupiter on the Capitol, and constructed the Cloaca Maxima, and that Rome, whenever she would raise any public building, sent to Etruria for artificers. But of the peculiarities of Etruscan architecture we know from history little more than Vitruvius tell us of the plan and proportions of a temple in the Tuscan style. We know too that Etruscan houses had frequently porticoes and a court, called atrium or cavtedium, within them, so arranged that the water from the roof fell into a tank in the centre a plan adopted by the Romans.
Unfortunately, not a vestige of an Etruscan temple, beyond some doubtful foundations, is now extant, to compare with Vitruvius' description; yet numerous models of temples and houses are to be seen in Etruscan tombs, either hewn from the rock, or sculptured on sepulchral monuments; and there is no lack of materials whence to learn the proportions, style, and decorations of the former, and the arrangements, conveniences, and furniture of the latter.
In truth Etruria presents abundant food to the inquiring architect; and he who would make the tour of her ancient cities and cemeteries, might add much to our knowledge of the early architecture of Italy. He would learn that the architecture of the Etruscans bore sometimes a close affinity to that of Egypt, sometimes to that of Greece or Rome, but had often remarkable native peculiarities. He would learn, also, beyond what Vitruvius tells him of the practice of the Etruscans to decorate the pediments of their temples with figures of clay or of bronze gilt, that they must also have been adorned internally with paintings and reliefs, and that the whole, both within and without, must have glowed with colour, according to the polychrome system set forth in the tombs and sepulchral monuments.
The remains of Etruscan architecture yet extant are found in the walls and gates of cities, in sewers, bridges, vaults, and tombs.
Nothing gives a more exalted idea of the power and grandeur of this ancient people than the walls of their cities. These enormous piles of masonry, uncemented, yet so solid as to have withstood for three thousand years the destroying hand of man, the tempests, the earthquakes, the invisible yet more destructive power of atmospheric action, seem destined to endure to the end of time; yet often show a beauty, a perfection of workmanship, that has never been surpassed.
The style of masonry differs in the two great divisions of the land, and is determined in part by the nature of the local materials. In the northern district, where the rock is difficult to be hewn, being limestone, hard sandstone, or travertine, the walls are composed of huge blocks, rectangular in general, but of various sizes, and irregular arrangement, according as the masses of rock were hewn or split from the quarry; and in some instances small pieces are inserted in the interstices of the larger blocks. There are also a few instances of the irregular, polygonal style, as in the Cyclopean cities of Central Italy. In the southern district the masonry is less massive and very regular, being composed of tufo or other volcanic rock, which admits of being easily worked.
In the earliest fortifications the gates were square-headed, spanned by lintels of stone or wood, and the arch, when found in connection with such masonry, must be considered of subsequent construction. But in walls of later date the gates were arched on the perfect cuneiform system, the massive voussoirs holding together without cement. Indeed there is abundant evidence in the architectural remains of Etruria that the perfect arch was known and practised in that land at a very early period; and that the Romans, who have too long enjoyed the credit of its invention, derived it from the Etruscans, is now set beyond a doubt.
That the world is indebted to Etruria for the discovery of the principle of the arch would be difficult of proof. The existence of arches among the tombs of Thebes and in the pyramids of Nubia on the one hand, and of a bridge in Laconia and a gate- way in Acarnania on the other, 6 raises two rivals to contest the honour of originality with Etruria; and a third may perhaps be found in Assyria, if Mr. Layard's views of the date of the monuments at Nimroud be correct. But whichever of these leading nations of antiquity may have discovered the principle, there can be no doubt that it was the Etruscans who first practised it in Italy; and, considering the inventive turn of this people and their acknowledged skill in architecture, it is probable that the principle of cuneiform sustentation was worked out by them, whether prior or subsequently to its discovery in Egypt, Greece, or Assyria it is impossible to determine. As in those countries, there are here also instances of pseudo-vaults, prior to the invention of the arch, formed by the gradual convergence of blocks laid in horizontal courses. These structures must be of very remote date, probably before the foundation of Rome.
So much will be said in the course of this work about the Sepulchres of the Etruscans, that it is not necessary to say much here. But it may be well to point out a few of their characteristics. A leading feature is, that they are always subterranean, in which they resemble the Greek rather than the Roman, being hollowed in the living rock, either beneath the surface of the ground, or in the face of a cliff, or at the foot of a cliff, which was shaped by the chisel into a monument, and inscribed with an epitaph. Where the rock would not readily admit of such excavation, or where the soil was too loose and friable, the tomb was constructed with masonry, and heaped over with earth into the form of a tumulus.
There is nothing in all Etruria like Roman sepulchres, built up above the surface of the ground; indeed, the object of the Etruscans, as of the Greeks, seems to have been rather to conceal their tombs than to display them, as it was with the Romans.
Another characteristic of Etruscan tombs, which distinguishes them from the Roman, and allies them intimately with those of Egypt and Asia Minor, is that they generally show an imitation, more or less obvious, of the abodes of the living. Some display this analogy in their exterior; others in their interior; a few in both. Some have more resemblance to temples, and may be the sepulchres of augurs or aruspices, or of families in which the sacerdotal office was hereditary. Even in cases where the analogy is not at first apparent, it will generally be found to exist, as in the tumular sepulchres, which are like the huts of ancient Phrygia.
It is most probable that the paintings on the walls of Etruscan tombs show the style, though perhaps not the exact subjects, of the internal decorations of their houses. The ceilings are sometimes adorned with coffers, and the walls with panelling benches and stools surround the chambers weapons and other furniture are suspended from the walls and easy arm-chairs, with foot-stools attached, all hewn from the living rock, are found in the subterranean houses of these Etruscan "cities of the dead." The analogy to houses has been truly and pointedly said to hold in everything but the light of day.
In this respect alone, Etruscan tombs have a peculiar interest and value, as illustrative of the plan, arrangements, and decorations, external and internal, of Etruscan houses; of which, as time has left us no trace, and history no definite description, we must gather what information we may from analogical sources. In the Etruscan temples and houses, be it remembered, we view those of early Rome, ere she had sat at the feet of her more accomplished preceptor, Greece.
Dennis, George. The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria. John Murray, 1883
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