The Etruscan Way in Tuscany leads to Bologna and the Adriatic Coast, and is a fascinating itinerary.
The Etruscan Way also goes through Bologna
The excursion route of the Via Etrusca Volterra - Artimino - Florence – Fiesole route, part of the Toscana Terra Etrusca project, largely follows one of the main transit routes that were intended to connect Volterra and the Colline Metallifere to the area of the Middle Valdarno, and then on to the trans-Apennine regions, Bologna and the Adriatic coast.
Discovering old Etruscan routes
The route laid out by the Region of Tuscany in the area north of the Arno starts from the Via Francigena near Fucecchio, crosses Cerreto Guidi and Vinci, and enters Carmignano (three municipalities of Montalbano with typical characteristics of the Tuscan landscape like vineyards and olive groves) reaching areas deeply marked by the Etruscan presence in the Carmignano: Pietramarina, Artimino, and Comeana. From Pietramarina, once again following the signs for the Via Etrusca – with the churches of S. Giusto, S. Martino in Campo and S. Leonardo - we come to Artimino, seat of the town that controlled the territory, where the Archaeological Museum and the necropolis of Prato Rosello, immersed in the Mediterranean scrub, are located, and can be reached by a short branch of the main route.
Old towns and archaeological museums
Descending from Artimino to Comeana, still following the route of the Via Etrusca, we reach the grandiose Tumulus of Montefortini and that of Boschetti. From Comeana we come to Signa and then Florence by following the cycle-pedestrian route that runs along the Arno, from which, at San Donnino, a deviation leads to the Etruscan town of Gonfienti. The main route, after passing through the historical centre of Florence where the National Archaeological Museum is located, reaches the archaeological area of Fiesole, site of the Etruscan city, later a Roman colony. The route of the Via degli Etruschi from Artimino to Marzabotto starts from the ancient Etruscan city of Artimino and, after crossing the Bisenzio valley and stopping in Prato (Gonfienti), Vaiano - Montecuccoli, Montepiano - Lake Brasimone, Grizzana Morandi - then crossed the Apennines reaching Marzabotto (the Etruscan Kainua) and connecting the current regions of Tuscany and Emilia Romagna, the ancient Etruria, with the Po valley.
Visitors can request personal travel certificates
The two Etruscan museums, the Pompeo Aria National Etruscan Museum in Marzabotto and the Francesco Nicosia Archaeological Museum in Artimino, are the two cultural and logistical terminals from which visitors can request travel credentials and personal travel certificates; one on departure and the other on arrival.
