Ancient Rome owes a great deal to the Etruscan civilisation which preceded it and nowhere is this more apparent than in Tarquinia, a UNESCO world heritage site. The highlight of the visit will be the necropolis, just outside the town. Here you will walk through Etruscan burial places which mimicked the houses and neighbourhoods that the occupants came from. You will also see some of the splendid wall paintings, depicting daily life in Etruria. All the more delicate items are exhibited in the museum, the best outside of Rome and displaying exquisite pieces of jewellery, painted ceramics, bronzes, candlesticks, heads and figures, usually family members taken from their tombs. After lunch in a local trattoria (not included), you will be driven to Lake Bracciano, a peaceful bathing spot, patronised by Romans escaping the summer heat. In 2006, this sleepy town shot into world headlines when Tom Cruise married Katie Holmes at the imposing Castello Orsini-Odelscalchi, which dominates the town.
