Necropoli etrusca di Sovana — II settore (San Sebastiano-Sopraripa, Tomba della Sirena)

The San Sebastiano–Sopraripa area is the second sector of Sovana’s Etruscan necropolis. It contains inscribed façade tombs, offering terraces and the aedicula tomb known as the Tomba della Sirena, alongside a carved via cava whose walls rise more than twenty metres.

Why it matters

The façade tombs date to the second half of the third century BC. Their raised cornices frame false doors bearing Etruscan inscriptions, with stairways leading to terraces with altars and boundary cippi. The Tomba della Sirena is the sector’s principal monument, combining a burial chamber and sculpted façade.

What to notice

The tomb façades preserve false doors and inscriptions, paired stairways and offering terraces. The Tomba della Sirena, also known in older records as La Fontana, has a large arched central niche flanked by reliefs of male and female demons. Its pediment shows Scilla with two erotes. A short inscription names Vel Nulina, son of Vel; the park account suggests that the small, off-axis chamber held a single cremated occupant. The adjacent via cava has carved signs on its rock walls. The former church of San Sebastiano stands near the necropolis.

Context and history

The necropolis belongs to Sovana’s late Etruscan period. The via cava formed part of a wider route network through the Folonia and Calesine valleys towards other burial areas. The medieval church of San Sebastiano was remodelled over time; it received a stucco altar under Bishop Enea Spennazzi between 1638 and 1644 and was restored in the late nineteenth century by parish priest Paolo Fabbri.