About the Etruscan Foundation

Our mission is to advance the study, preservation, and appreciation of the art and archaeology of the peoples of the Italic peninsula and their connections to a wider world. We are dedicated to fostering scholarly research, supporting publication through the Journal of Etruscan and Italic Studies, and promoting public understanding, and educational initiatives that illuminate this rich cultural heritage. Through collaborative partnerships and innovative projects, we aim to preserve their sites and artifacts for future generations while enhancing global awareness of their contributions to world history and its continuing connections to the present.

Foundation history

The Etruscan Foundation was established in 1959 by Ferdinand Cinelli as a non-profit organization to promote research and scholarly study of ancient Etruria, the region of Italy known today as Tuscany. Headquartered in Michigan, this American foundation sponsored its first archaeological campaign in 1958 at the ancient Etruscan city of Vetulonia, now recognized as a site of major historic and archaeological importance. Since that campaign, over sixty programs, co-sponsored by a series of American universities have excavated Paleolithic, Etruscan, Roman, and medieval sites.

Some of the more extensive field projects funded by the Etruscan Foundation since 1959 have been: