<< Our Photo Pages >> Ildebranda Tomb - Rock Cut Tomb in Italy in Toscana
Submitted by ivanjohnson on Saturday, 07 August 2010 Page Views: 4636
Multi-periodSite Name: Ildebranda TombCountry: Italy
NOTE: This site is 10.61 km away from the location you searched for.
Region: Toscana Type: Rock Cut Tomb
Nearest Town: Sovana Nearest Village: Sovana
Latitude: 42.658441N Longitude: 11.633474E
Condition:
| 5 | Perfect |
| 4 | Almost Perfect |
| 3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
| 2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
| 1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
| 0 | No data. |
| -1 | Completely destroyed |
| 5 | Superb |
| 4 | Good |
| 3 | Ordinary |
| 2 | Not Good |
| 1 | Awful |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
| 4 | Short walk on a footpath |
| 3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
| 2 | A long walk |
| 1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
| 0 | No data. |
| 5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
| 4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
| 3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
| 2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
| 1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
| 0 | no data |
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External Links:
The area for several miles around this site is absolutely a megalithic goldmine packed with rock-cut Etruscan necropoli, spectacular rock-cut ancient roads (via cava), relatively elaborate and fascinating troglodyte rock-cut cave towns, all in a very wild spectacular setting.
Ildebranda Tomb is one of the highlights of this fascinating area.
from the Experience Tuscany website:
"Ildebranda Tomb was discovered in 1924 by one of the Rosi brothers, and then carefully studied in detail by Ranuccio Bianchi-Bandinelli. It dates back to the Third or Second century BC and is considered the most important monument of the necropolis and the whole Etruria. Not knowing anything about the person that had built such an imposing and “bizarre” grave, the discoverers wanted to give it the name of the most illustrious citizen of Sovana, the former pope Ildebrando.
The tomb is composed of two distinct parts: the burial chamber, and the burial monument, both cut into the tuff walls not far from the center of Sovana. The monument was built without adding external materials. Precisely for this reason, due to the brittleness of tufa, many of its architectural elements have been lost. Through decorative fragments recovered during the excavations, and thanks to comparisons with the pediment of the Temple of Talomone, a fairly realistic reconstruction of the tomb could be done. Thanks to this reconstruction it is possible to state that the Ildebranda tomb was built in the style of a Greek temple. Features and architectural and decorative elements underline the socio-cultural relations between ancient Greece and the Etruscans.
The monument included a high podium with two side stairways where there were 12 columns marking a “pronaos” with coffered ceiling. On the columns rested the “crowning” which was the most ornamental part thanks to the frieze on three sides decorated with a series of griffins and human figures and plant motifs. The whole monument was covered with polychrome stuccos, as the decorative Etruscan art loved bright colours. Unfortunately, today very little is left of the tomb’s original appearance, although its appeal is still considerable.
The burial chamber, located symmetrically beneath the monument, has no decorations and no burial paraphernalia, as it was desecrated in ancient times. It is accessible through a central “dromos” that goes down for about ten meters. This “dromos” intersects another one on the right that descends for about 10 meters to reach a tomb from the Fourth century BC. The burial chamber of the latter is Greek style, and its coffered ceiling shows fine workmanship. The tomb Ildebranda is situated in a dominant position within walking distance from the road of the Etruscan “Cavone” road. It was not only a great architectural work but probably was also used as a sacred place and certainly represented a landmark for travellers passing by the territory of Sovana."
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
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Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.