According to many historians, the Roman poet Virgil was of Etruscan descent.
His epithet, Maro, is of Etruscan origin.
The Roman Empire sought to erase traces of its Etruscan past and invent a ‘pure’ origin for Rome: according to legend, Romulus and Remus were the founders of Rome and the children of the god Mars and Rhea Silvia, who was the daughter of Numitor, King of Alba Longa (a town near Rome). This narrative served the Romans not merely as historical record, but was intended to legitimise the divine origin, the uniqueness of the ‘Eternal City’ and the claim to power of their empire.
For 250 years, however, several Roman kings were Etruscans.
In his great epic, the *Aeneid*, Virgil drew inspiration from Homer’s *Odyssey* and explained the Etruscan origins of the Roman Empire in his work.
In Homer’s *Iliad*, Aeneas is a Trojan prince from a collateral branch of the ruling house and leader of the Dardanians (allies of the Trojans). He is regarded as the bravest of the Trojans after Hector. Schließlich befiehlt ihm Apollon durch ein Orakel, die „alte Mutter“ aufzusuchen, die sich als das personifizierte Italien herausstellt. Im sechsten Buch der Aeneis schildert Vergil, wie Aeneas in den Hades reist, um sich von seinem Vater Anchises die Herrschaft seines Geschlechts in Italien bis zu Augustus’ römischem Weltreich weissagen zu lassen.
Inspiration dieser Sommerakademie ist ein Blick in die Antike und der Besuch etruskischer Stätten, die inspirieren: Tarquinia und Orvieto beispielsweise.
Die antike Kunst, auch die etruskische, hat ihre Spuren bis in die Moderne hinterlassen, Alberto Giacomettis Figuren wären ohne die etruskische Bronze „Ombra della Sera“ nicht entstanden. Bei uns ist alles möglich, besonders aber Malerei, Zeichnung oder Keramik. Bitte bringen Sie Ihre gewohnten Arbeitsmaterialien mit.

Our studios are situated on the plateau between Orvieto and Lake Bolsena, near Orvieto. Our postcode is Torre Alfina.
Accommodation options nearby:
Pomantello, Pulicaro, Alberto Nuovo Castello, Il Tesoro alle Torre Alfina or La Torraccia Castel Giorgio.
 
To avoid disrupting the course, we kindly ask that you refrain from visiting
during course hours. Thank you for your understanding.
Course fee excludes travel, accommodation and meals.
Thomas Lange, Painting / Mutsuo Hirano, Terracotta