Archeology Saved: The First Etruscans in Fonterutoli
Data evento 27/06/2025 - 06/01/2026
Exhibition as part of the “Etruscans 85-25 project”, promoted by Regione Toscana, organised by Fondazione Musei Senesi and Associazione Musei Archeologici della Toscana, with the collaboration of Provincia di Siena and Segretariato Regionale per la Toscana del Ministero della Cultura, and with the support of Fondazione del Monte dei Paschi di Siena.
"Archeologia salvata” (Archeology Saved) in Castellina in Chianti: from 27th June, an exhibition celebrates the rediscovery of the Etruscans and the value of shared heritage protection. The opening will be preceded by a lecture by journalist Fabio Isman
The year 2025 marks a crucial moment for the promotion of Etruscan culture in Tuscany, and Castellina in Chianti is set to be one of its key protagonists. Starting from 27th June and running until 6th January 2026, Museo Archeologico del Chianti will host the exhibition “Archeologia salvata: i primi Etruschi a Fonterutoli” (Archeology Saved: The First Etruscans in Fonterutoli), the first event in the celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the original "Progetto Etruschi", conceived and organsed by regione Toscana in 1985. To commemorate that legacy, the "The Etruscans 85–25 project" was born—an initiative once again promoted by the Region of Tuscany and organised by Fondazione Musei Senesi and AMAT – Associazione Musei Archeologici della Toscana, in collaboration with Provincia di Siena and Segretariato Regionale per la Toscana del Ministero della Cultura, and with the support of Fondazione del Monte dei Paschi di Siena.
The opening event in Castellina in Chianti
On Friday, 27th June, prior to the opening of the exhibition, there will be a lecture by journalist and writer Fabio Isman entitled “L’arte e l’archeologia razziate” (Looted art and archaeology). An expert on illicit trafficking and the destruction of cultural heritage, Isman will take the audience inside a cultural battle he has fought for decades through investigations, books, and articles: the fight against the looting of ancient art, and in particular against illegal excavations that have deprived Italy of priceless treasures. Following the lecture, the exhibition “Archeologia salvata: i primi Etruschi a Fonterutoli” will officially open, showcasing the results of an extraordinary recovery operation that took place in Castellina in Chianti. The artifacts on display, originating from illicit excavations intercepted thanks to the intervention of the Gruppo Archeologico Salingolpe and the authorities, represent the first materials returned to the public heritage. The exhibition thus celebrates not only the value of the objects themselves, but also the effectiveness of collaboration among institutions, citizens, and academic research.
The story of the illicit excavations and the Etruscan tombs now preserved in Castellina in Chianti
In late 2024, near the area of Fonterutoli, already known for Etruscan finds and traces, the Gruppo Archeologico Salingolpe, a long-standing association based in Castellina, identified the signs of an illegal excavation. The alert launched by volunteers immediately prompted an intervention by the Carabinieri for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Florence who, together with the Archaeological Superintendency of Siena, managed to recover over 130 Etruscan bronze artifacts, narrowly saved from dispersal into the black market. With the collaboration of the University of Siena and the Mazzei family, owners of the land, a previously unknown Etruscan necropolis was discovered—dating from the late 8th to the early 7th century BCE—with two intact tombs, one male and one female, containing bronze fibulae, ornaments, and everyday objects that illustrate the funerary rituals and refined craftsmanship of an era in which Chianti was already deeply connected to Volterra, one of the great centres of Etruscan civilization.
A museum at the heart of the new Etruscan Tuscany
The role of Castellina in Chianti and the Museo Archeologico del Chianti extends far beyond this opening event. Already a virtuous example of community-based heritage management, the museum is now one of the symbolic sites of the new Etruscan season that Regione Toscana has chosen to launch in 2025, forty years after the pioneering "Progetto Etruschi", born in 1985 with the goal of “bringing the Etruscans out of the scholars’ rooms”.
That project marked a radical shift in the way archaeology was communicated and experienced in Tuscany, transforming Etruscan civilization from a purely academic subject into a driver of identity, tourism, and contemporary creativity. Now, forty years later, Regione Toscana has conceived a broad, participatory program of events which—under the curatorship of Fondazione Musei Senesi—will involve museums across the region and offer educational workshops, academic conferences, and digital tools, including virtual tours and narrative paths on the portal www.cultura.toscana.it. Within this landscape, Castellina in Chianti stands out as a strategic point of reference, not only for the quality of its museum and collections, but also for its ability to combine heritage preservation, research, and community engagement.
[photocredit @Daniela Neri]