“The Etruscans: From the Heart of Ancient Italy” Opens in San Francisco

The Etruscan Foundation is pleased to highlight The Etruscans: From the Heart of Ancient Italy, a landmark exhibition on view at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s Legion of Honor from May 2 through September 20, 2026, with related public programs presented in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco.

The exhibition is the most comprehensive presentation of Etruscan culture in the United States in recent decades, bringing together nearly 200 exceptional objects from major museums in Italy, Europe, the United States, and Canada. Many of these works are being shown in the United States for the first time, including masterpieces from the Vatican’s Gregorian Etruscan Museum, the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia, and the Civic Museums of Palazzo Farnese in Piacenza. Highlights include the celebrated Piacenza Liver, the Zagreb Linen Book—the longest surviving Etruscan text—and recent discoveries from San Casciano dei Bagni.

Exploring nearly a millennium of Etruscan history, from the ninth to the second century BCE, the exhibition examines artistic production, religious practices, funerary traditions, language, trade, and daily life, while also emphasizing the profound influence of Etruscan civilization on the development of ancient Rome and the wider Mediterranean world.

Following its presentation in San Francisco, the exhibition will travel to the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA), where it will be on view from October 31, 2026, through March 14, 2027. The Etruscan Foundation is pleased to sponsor a lecture by archaeologists Davide Zori and Jamie Aprile, “Unearthing the Etruscans: New Insights from the San Giuliano Archaeological Research Project,” at the museum on Tuesday, November 19, 6:00-7:00 pm CT. You can register for the lecture, in-person or livestream, through the SAMA website.