Italian
Etruscans and Veneti. Waters, Cults, and Sanctuaries is therefore an exhibition on the fundamental role of water in the sacred and in the formation and development of the societies of two of the most important civilizations of pre-Roman Italy.
The exhibition aims to highlight how water has represented not only a vital resource for human settlement but also how it has characterized worship and the relationship with the divine, taking on a central role in the religious and social organization of these peoples.
The project, curated by Margherita Tirelli and Chiara Squarcina, is organized by the Fondazione Musei Civici del Comune di Venezia with the sponsorship of the Istituto Nazionale di Studi Etruschi e Italici and realized in collaboration with the Fondazione Luigi Rovati.
The exhibition will bring together significant archaeological finds, many of which are unpublished and come from recent excavation campaigns, made visible to the public thanks to prestigious loans granted by important Italian museum institutions.
The exhibition aims, according to the intentions of the Civic Museums, to focus attention on the ancient people of the Etruscans, who lived between the 9th and 1st centuries BC in Italy between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas, exploring their customs and traditions, language, and historical significance, starting from the recent fundamental archaeological discovery of the sanctuary of San Casciano ai Bagni, near Siena, and the core of bronzes remarkably preserved dating from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD, alongside inscriptions that allow for further insights into the Etruscan language.
In fact, of great relevance in this exhibition is the presence of the latest discoveries made in San Casciano dei Bagni, which is a sanctuary that developed between the Etruscan period and the early Roman age. The bronzes date back to the late Etruscan period, when both in Etruria and in Veneto, Latin was starting to be widely spoken. It is clear then that the opportunity to exhibit the discovered bronzes becomes a way to create an exhibition around the theme of water.
A show worth seeing, even if the minimalist setup does not sufficiently highlight the exceptional nature of the artifacts presented.
The itinerary of the exhibition then continues in the territory of the ancient Veneti. The theme of the sacred in the local context and its relationship with water is introduced by materials capable of guiding the visitor into the religious sphere of the Veneti: San Pietro in Montagnon, present-day Montegrotto, closely connected to the healing power of the thermal waters; the Dolomite sanctuary of Lagole di Calalzo, linked to the presence of springs believed to be therapeutic; the sanctuary of Este, located along a branch of the Adige, which was dedicated to Reitia, the goddess of the river.
The final stage of the journey is the lagoon sanctuary of Altino, a port facing the Adriatic and Mediterranean routes that served as an international maritime outpost for the Veneti people, who created unique rituals thanks to the integration of foreigners.
In closing, there is the unprecedented installation We are bodies of water, created by Fondazione Bonotto with the scientific collaboration of the Giancarlo Ligabue Natural History Museum of Venice, dedicated to the fragile Venetian lagoon ecosystem, a bridge between past and present.
Etruscans and Veneti. Waters, Cults, and Sanctuaries is therefore an exhibition on the fundamental role of water in the sacred and in the formation and development of the societies of two of the most important civilizations of pre-Roman Italy.
The exhibition aims to highlight how water has represented not only a vital resource for human settlement but also how it has characterized worship and the relationship with the divine, taking on a central role in the religious and social organization of these peoples.
The project, curated by Margherita Tirelli and Chiara Squarcina, is organized by the Fondazione Musei Civici del Comune di Venezia with the sponsorship of the Istituto Nazionale di Studi Etruschi e Italici and realized in collaboration with the Fondazione Luigi Rovati.
The exhibition will bring together significant archaeological finds, many of which are unpublished and come from recent excavation campaigns, made visible to the public thanks to prestigious loans granted by important Italian museum institutions.
The exhibition aims, according to the intentions of the Civic Museums, to focus attention on the ancient people of the Etruscans, who lived between the 9th and 1st centuries BC in Italy between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas, exploring their customs and traditions, language, and historical significance, starting from the recent fundamental archaeological discovery of the sanctuary of San Casciano ai Bagni, near Siena, and the core of bronzes remarkably preserved dating from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD, alongside inscriptions that allow for further insights into the Etruscan language.
In fact, of great relevance in this exhibition is the presence of the latest discoveries made in San Casciano dei Bagni, which is a sanctuary that developed between the Etruscan period and the early Roman age. The bronzes date back to the late Etruscan period, when both in Etruria and in Veneto, Latin was starting to be widely spoken. It is clear then that the opportunity to exhibit the discovered bronzes becomes a way to create an exhibition around the theme of water.
A show worth seeing, even if the minimalist setup does not sufficiently highlight the exceptional nature of the artifacts presented.
An exhibition at the Doge’s Palace featuring the exceptional finds from San Casciano
From March 6 to September 29, 2026, in Venice, Doge’s Palace in the Doge’s Apartment
seas, rivers, lakes, and springs become protagonists as preferred places for the worship of waters.
In fact, the exhibition path dedicated to the Etruscans starts from the sanctuaries of the Tyrrhenian ports of Vulci and Pyrgi, continuing with the healing water sanctuaries of Chiusi, Chianciano, and San Casciano dei Bagni, and the small but monumental sanctuary of Marzabotto, built in the heart of Padana Etruria at the site of a spring.
The section dedicated to the Etruscans concludes with the finds from Adria and Spina, the most important north-Adriatic ports, where the presence of places of worship is not evidenced by monumental structures, but solely by epigraphic and archaeological finds.
The itinerary of the exhibition then continues in the territory of the ancient Veneti. The theme of the sacred in the local context and its relationship with water is introduced by materials capable of guiding the visitor into the religious sphere of the Veneti: San Pietro in Montagnon, present-day Montegrotto, closely connected to the healing power of the thermal waters; the Dolomite sanctuary of Lagole di Calalzo, linked to the presence of springs believed to be therapeutic; the sanctuary of Este, located along a branch of the Adige, which was dedicated to Reitia, the goddess of the river.
The final stage of the journey is the lagoon sanctuary of Altino, a port facing the Adriatic and Mediterranean routes that served as an international maritime outpost for the Veneti people, who created unique rituals thanks to the integration of foreigners.
In closing, there is the unprecedented installation We are bodies of water, created by Fondazione Bonotto with the scientific collaboration of the Giancarlo Ligabue Natural History Museum of Venice, dedicated to the fragile Venetian lagoon ecosystem, a bridge between past and present.
Etruscans and Veneti. Waters, Cults, and Sanctuaries is therefore an exhibition on the fundamental role of water in the sacred and in the formation and development of the societies of two of the most important civilizations of pre-Roman Italy.
The exhibition aims to highlight how water has represented not only a vital resource for human settlement but also how it has characterized worship and the relationship with the divine, taking on a central role in the religious and social organization of these peoples.
The project, curated by Margherita Tirelli and Chiara Squarcina, is organized by the Fondazione Musei Civici del Comune di Venezia with the sponsorship of the Istituto Nazionale di Studi Etruschi e Italici and realized in collaboration with the Fondazione Luigi Rovati.
The exhibition will bring together significant archaeological finds, many of which are unpublished and come from recent excavation campaigns, made visible to the public thanks to prestigious loans granted by important Italian museum institutions.
The exhibition aims, according to the intentions of the Civic Museums, to focus attention on the ancient people of the Etruscans, who lived between the 9th and 1st centuries BC in Italy between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas, exploring their customs and traditions, language, and historical significance, starting from the recent fundamental archaeological discovery of the sanctuary of San Casciano ai Bagni, near Siena, and the core of bronzes remarkably preserved dating from the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD, alongside inscriptions that allow for further insights into the Etruscan language.
In fact, of great relevance in this exhibition is the presence of the latest discoveries made in San Casciano dei Bagni, which is a sanctuary that developed between the Etruscan period and the early Roman age. The bronzes date back to the late Etruscan period, when both in Etruria and in Veneto, Latin was starting to be widely spoken. It is clear then that the opportunity to exhibit the discovered bronzes becomes a way to create an exhibition around the theme of water.
A show worth seeing, even if the minimalist setup does not sufficiently highlight the exceptional nature of the artifacts presented.
