Everyone loves Volterra right now thanks to New Moon, but before that, the Etruscans loved it thanks to its rich store of iron. The Guarnacci museum, which originated as a private collection, has a very large number of small urns that are arranged on shelves that line every room. This can get excessive, and the curators know it, so they came up with a most interesting museological solution for the upstairs (first floor). They covered the walls with green panels that allow you to see only select works; other pieces are set up in glass cases in the middle of the room.
Most important works: This museum contains two important works in totally different styles. The Ombra della Sera is a tall bronze shadow figure with a young boy’s head; it may have been a fertility figure, thrust into the ground. The other piece to note is the terracotta funerary urn of a couple, Urna degli Sposi, that is highly detailed and doesn’t miss a wrinkle. The Romans in fact didn’t approve of the way that the Etruscans invited their wives to their drinking parties; the Etruscans were rather more egalitarian, as can be seen by this double funerary monument for a couple that has lived a long life together