Lost heritage of Foiano

The main sources for a reconstruction of the town of Foiano in Etruscan and Roman times come from the excavations carried out at the “S. Francesco” necropolis in the late 19th century. A first excavation campaign undertaken in 1879 by Giuseppe Capannelli and Giacomo Tempora was followed by a second campaign carried out in 1900 under the direction of Gian Francesco Gamurrini. The finds now displayed in the church-museum of the Fraternita di S. Maria were for the most part uncovered during the latter excavation campaign.Involving over sixty burials, the above 19th century excavations yielded materials which were only partially identified and ended up, for the most part, being dispersed on the antiquarian market. The circumstances under which the collection was formed are complex and not all details of them are known to us; however, the history of the collection should be seen against the backdrop of the extensive network of trades and interests which revolved around archaeological excavations at the turn of the 20th century (hydria with myth of Orpheus, Museum of Fine Arts of Boston, inv. 90.156), also concurrently with the establishment of the archaeological museums of Chiusi and Florence.