From the heights of Cortona, a town overlooking the Valdichiana, the MAEC - Museum of the Etruscan Academy and the City of Cortona - continues to tell, with an ever new voice, one of the most fascinating stories of antiquity: that of the Etruscans. Here, where the Etruscan civilization left deep and lasting traces, the museum is not only a place of preservation, but a laboratory of ideas, a bridge between past and future. From the fossilized faunas of a million years ago to the bronze of the famous Etruscan chandelier, from the Accademia’s 18th-century collections to the works of Gino Severini, a Cortonese Futurist painter, each room of the MAEC restores the complexity of a living heritage that is constantly being renewed.
Founded on the roots of the ancient Etruscan Academy of 1727-one of the first European cultural institutions to open its collections to the public-the museum today represents a point of reference for Tuscan archaeology and international Etruscological research. But what distinguishes it is not only the wealth of exhibits: it is its dual soul, at once historical and contemporary. The layout, in fact, combines elegance and communication, dialoguing with a heterogeneous public ranging from scholars to families, from tourists to students. Today the MAEC looks ahead, embracing the challenges of digitization and cultural inclusion. At the same time, the museum remains deeply connected to the territory, promoting events, workshops and projects shared with the Cortona community, in an ongoing dialogue between local history and international scope.
In this interview with Ilaria Baratta, MAEC’s Technical Committee talks about the mission, projects and visions of a museum that continues to renew itself, without ever losing the thread of memory. A place where the voice of the Etruscans still resonates, clear and current, among the lights of the present.
IB. Tuscany is a land rich in Etruscan and archaeological evidence. What is MAEC’s role today within this panorama?
MAEC. The MAEC represents a strategic point of reference for Tuscany, by virtue of the fact that it tells us not only the story of one of the Etruscan lucumonies but also of the first cultural institution that, in 1727, initiated its study.
What distinguishes the MAEC from other Italian archaeological museums? What do you think is the distinguishing feature of the museum?
The dual soul is the salient element of the museum, and this aspect can also be perceived of the layout: contemporary and communicative when it tells the story of the Etruscans of Curtun; elegant and noble when it brings out the great personalities and heterogeneous collections of those who, like the Venuti Brothers, following the currents of the Enlightenment, bet on collections open to all, an epoch-making fact for the time.
How is the MAEC’s exhibition itinerary organized?
It starts from the two basement floors that take us to the Valdichiana of a million years ago, with the fossil faunas of Farneta; it follows Prehistory up to the Neolithic; and finally to the Etruscans and the Roman phase. Going up to the upper floors, one encounters the academic collections, formed mainly between the 18th and 19th centuries: Etruscan, Greek, and Roman objects and the extraordinary Etruscan chandelier; not only that: the picture gallery, with works by Luca Signorelli and Pietro Berrettini, an extraordinary Egyptian collection and, last but not least, the section dedicated to Gino Severini, a futurist painter born in Cortona. In short, a true “kaleidoscope of culture.”
What are the most significant exhibits that best represent the history and soul of the museum?
We propose four: the Polymnia muse, an extraordinary 18th-century forgery, long thought to be original, imitating frescoes from that Herculaneum discovered by Marcello Venuti, when he was in the service of King Charles of Bornone; the Etruscan chandelier, or an extraordinary bronze work, weighing 54 kilograms, completely decorated, that was meant to illuminate a great Etruscan temple; Gino Severini’s Materinity, which even moved Giuseppe Ungaretti; the tabula cortonensis, the third longest Etruscan text in the world.
Are there works or sections that you would like to enhance more or renovate?
We are working on refurbishing the Etruscan chandelier and the section related to the birth of the academy: in the former we will also add multimedia apparatuses to help people understand how it works; in the latter we would like to better emphasize the historical ties that tied our institution to Europe’s greatest intellectuals.
The museum is strongly linked to the city of Cortona and its territory. How does the MAEC dialogue with the local community and the cultural realities of the area?
Since the inauguration of the MAEC in 2005, which united the history section of the Academy with the new part dedicated to the Etruscan city, we have worked to create a community around the museum: evidence of this are the many educational offerings, the free admission for residents, the creation of a network of Friends of the MAEC (accommodations, restaurants) and, for example, events such as the theater at the Sodo Archaeological Area in the summer, the Breakfast at the Museum on the first of the year, offered to citizens and tourists by all the food and wine operators of Cortona.
How many visitors does the MAEC welcome on average each year? And what kind of audience prevails - young people, families, scholars, international tourists? What age groups or types of audiences show the most interest in the museum and Etruscan culture? Do you have specific projects or initiatives to bring young people and schools closer to the Etruscan heritage?
The museum generally has an average of 30,000 visitors per year. These are half Italians and half foreigners (Americans, Dutch, Germans, British, French); there are many school groups and children, for whom Ati Aion/Itinera/Coopculture prepares interesting workshops ranging from classical didactics to experimental archaeology. But the museum also hosts conferences, book presentations, and days dedicated, for example, to the history of oil and wine, finding logical historical premises in the exhibits (a vineyard is mentioned in the tabula, and the lamapadarium fed on olive oil). Moreover, that the Etruscans are among us is also evidenced by the many streets named, for example, after Dardanus, Tarconte, as well as the excellent trattorias named after this ancient world.
Technology and digitization are transforming the museum experience. Has the MAEC undertaken any projects in this area?
It certainly has. With the MiC’s School of Heritage, we have initiated a program to overhaul the museum’s digital offerings, starting with the new site, in which it will be possible to explore many objects scanned in 3D. Also with the Department of Architecture of the University of Florence, the digitization of the Etruscan walls is underway; and for three years now with Duke University and the Superintendency we have been conducting geophysical research on the ground and with drones equipped with cameras to acquire data on the monuments and the territory, aimed at safeguarding and restoring more comprehensible and inclusive funerary monuments of the mezzacosta and the plain.
The MAEC is also the archaeological park’s documentation center and the focal point of visitor reception, orientation and triage services. How does this link between museum and archaeological park work, and what kind of services does it offer visitors?
The MAEC is the logical starting point for documenting oneself before visiting the urban circuit of the walls, the bifora gate and the tombs in the area: the Angori tanella, of Piagora, the Camucia tumulus and the Sodo tumuli. The latter two, princely tombs from the Archaic period, one of which has a monumental altar-terrace are open to visitors for a fee. There is a cumulative ticket for MAEC and Sodo Archaeological Area. Inside the Area in addition to the services it is possible to connect, if you have a mountain-bike, to the principes path, which connects the Sodo area with the path of the Reclamation that has, at its two ends, Chiusi and Arezzo; in short, a synthesis of history and well-being.
What plans do you have for the MAEC in the near future?
We have some wonderful exhibitions planned: from December 6, 2025, to April 6, 2026, The Etruscans and the Netherlands, with the return of a splendid collection of Etruscan bronzes originally from Cortona purchased by the Leiden museum in the first half of the 20th century. It will be an occasion to toast not only this fifth international exhibition (Cortona has done others with the Hermitage, the Louvre, the British, and the Museum.of Lattes-Montpellier) but also the fortieth of the Year of the Etruscans, that 1985 Project then titled Buongiorno Etruschi, desired by the Region of Tuscany, which was a decisive push for the growth of all local authority museums, the progress of which is still recorded today. And it was, may we be allowed, also an example of a virtuous method of interinstitutional cooperation between local authorities and the state.
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