Cerite National Museum
Discover Cerite National Museum
Last updated on October 9, 2026Introduction
The Cerite National Museum is the archaeological museum of Cerveteri, devoted to Etruscan art from the necropoleis of ancient Caere -- the Banditaccia above all. It occupies the Castello Ruspoli in the historic centre, facing piazza Santa Maria, and is named for Princess Claudia Ruspoli. It had 19,015 visitors in 2015, and since 2021 it has belonged to the Parco archeologico di Cerveteri e Tarquinia.
Architecture
The museum is in the castle that belonged to the Ruspoli family, and the building is the oldest object in it. The comune describes it as a 13th-century fortress raised in masonry of tufa, lava and brick, with several towers and a rectangular main block -- and, built into the fabric, stretches of Etruscan walling dating to the 4th century B.C. Its summary is exact: a true fortified polygon.
That mix of materials is a geological account of the place. Tufa and lava are what the Cerveteri plateau is made of -- the same volcanic rock the Banditaccia tombs are cut into -- and brick is the medieval addition. The castle is, in effect, built out of the same ground as the necropolis whose contents it now displays.
The Etruscan wall sections are the detail worth looking for. They are three centuries older than almost anything else standing in the town centre, and they were not preserved out of reverence: a 13th-century builder reused a defensive line that was already there because it worked. The same logic produced the whole structure.
The castle stands in the historic centre, facing piazza Santa Maria, and the museum inside it is named for Princess Claudia Ruspoli. The display is arranged over two levels.
How it was built and evolved over time
The castle was assembled from what the plateau provided and what was already standing. Its masonry is tufa, lava and brick: the first two quarried from the same volcanic rock that the Etruscans cut their tombs into at the Banditaccia, the third a medieval addition. Into that 13th-century fabric are incorporated stretches of Etruscan wall of the 4th century B.C. -- a defensive line reused rather than demolished, which is why the comune describes the result as a fortified polygon rather than a regular castle plan. Several towers and a rectangular block complete it.
The museum inside was assembled quite differently, and much of it by subtraction. The collections document the cultural phases of the whole Cerite territory, but the most remarkable pieces excavated from these necropoleis are not here: notable material from the same areas is held at the Museo nazionale etrusco di Villa Giulia in Rome and at the Louvre. What the museum shows is organised thematically by necropolis, with cases on the Villanovan phase of the Sepolcreto del Sorbo and on the Hellenistic period through the Tomba dei Tasmie and the Tomba dei sarcofagi of the Banditaccia, alongside bucchero ware, amphorae, funerary vases and figured sarcophagus lids, some original and some reproduced.
The two best objects came back rather than being dug up. The Euphronios krater and kylix were removed in illegal excavations, exported, and displayed abroad for years before being returned to the Italian State; they were first placed at Villa Giulia in Rome and only then assigned permanently to Cerveteri, where they have been since 2015.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Euphronios vases really here?
Yes. The Euphronios krater and kylix, Attic red-figure ceramics of the 5th century B.C., have been definitively assigned to the Cerveteri museum since 2015.
How did they end up abroad?
They were taken in illegal excavations in the Cerveteri area and exported. The krater was long exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the kylix at the Getty Museum in Malibu. Both were returned to the Italian State, placed first at the Villa Giulia Etruscan Museum in Rome, and then assigned permanently here.
What building is the museum in?
The castle that belonged to the Ruspoli family, in the historic centre of Cerveteri facing piazza Santa Maria. The museum is named after Princess Claudia Ruspoli.
How old is the castle?
It is a 13th-century fortress, built in masonry of tufa, lava and brick, with several towers and a rectangular block -- and with stretches of Etruscan walls of the 4th century B.C. incorporated into it, which is why the comune describes it as a true fortified polygon.
What does the collection cover?
Etruscan art from the necropoleis of the ancient city of Caere, the Banditaccia among them. The cases are thematic by necropolis: the Villanovan phase for the Sepolcreto del Sorbo, the Hellenistic period through the Tomba dei Tasmie and the Tomba dei sarcofagi, with bucchero ware, amphorae, funerary vases and figured sarcophagus lids, some original and some reproduced.
Why isn't the best Caere material here?
Because it left. Notable pieces from these archaeological areas are held at the Museo nazionale etrusco di Villa Giulia in Rome and at the Louvre.
Who runs the museum?
The culture ministry, which managed it through the Polo museale del Lazio from December 2014; in 2021 it became part of the Parco archeologico di Cerveteri e Tarquinia.
Will it be busy?
Very unlikely. The museum recorded 19,015 visitors in 2015.
What are the opening hours?
Not published in any source this page could verify. The Comune di Cerveteri gives the museum's numbers as +39 06 30321659 and +39 353 4107535; call before travelling.