UmbriaThe History and the Art
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Pressure from other groups, such as the Sabines to the south, the
Picenes to the east, the Etruscans and the Galli Senoni who settled to the
north of the Tevere in the so-called "Ager Gallicus", forced the Umbrians to reduce their
domain. The few documents which have been preserved, including the writings of the Greek
historian and geographer Strabone, allow us to reconstruct an image of an advanced
civilisation which was strongly influenced by its powerful Etruscan neighbours. The area was
organised into autonomous city states, probably forming a federation between them. Similar
conclusions have been deduced from the most important document of Umbrian civilisation,
the "Tavole Eugubine" - the Gubbio Tablets. These seven bronze plates, dating from the 3rd
to the 1st century B.C., describe ceremonies and holy rites written half using the Etruscan
alphabet and half using the Latin alphabet. Found in Gubbio they are preserved in Palazzo
dei Consoli. The Etruscans were present on a large scale in many parts of Umbria to the right
of the Tevere. In Perugia it is possible to follow an authentic Etruscan itinerary by way of the
underground tombs of the Volumni, San Manno and that of the Cutu. Orvieto has been
identified as the ancient Etruscan settlement of Volsinii. The remains found in the town and in
the nearby burial chambers are preserved in the Claudio Faina Foundation Museum and in
the Museum of the Works
of the Cathedral (Opera del Duomo). Umbrian civilisation began an inexorable decline when
it came in contact with Rome. At first some cities, such as Otricoli, tried forming an alliance.
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Umbria The History and the Art
Umbria The History and the Art
