The Legion of Honor in San Francisco is presenting a major exhibition titled "The Etruscans: From the Heart of Ancient Italy," which will run from May 2 to September 20, 2026. This exhibition aims to shed light on the Etruscan civilization, which thrived in central Italy from approximately 900 B.C. to 100 B.C., predating the Roman Empire and influencing its development in areas like urban planning, hydraulic engineering, and viticulture.
The exhibition features over 150 artifacts, including bronze and terracotta sculptures, gold jewelry, ceramics, and architectural fragments. Many pieces are making their U.S. debut, and some have left their lending institutions for the first time. Notable items include an exquisitely carved stone sarcophagus, elaborate grave objects from the Regolini-Galassi Tomb, and bronze votive figures discovered in the thermal waters of San Casciano dei Bagni, illustrating the continuity of religious practices during the transition to Roman rule.
A central highlight of the exhibition is the Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis, also known as the Linen Book of Zagreb, which is the longest surviving piece of Etruscan writing. This linen manuscript, a religious calendar and documentation of ritual sacrifices, survived because it was repurposed as mummy wrappings in Egypt's dry climate. Its display helps to address the challenge of deciphering the unique Etruscan language, which has no known parent languages or modern descendants, despite using the Greek alphabet.
The exhibition, curated by Renée Dreyfus, curator in charge of ancient art at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, draws on over a decade of new scholarship and archaeological discoveries. It seeks to correct the long-standing overshadowing of Etruscan culture by Greek and Roman history, emphasizing their significant contributions and their relatively elevated status for women, who were literate, could inherit property, and participated in public life. Admission to the exhibition costs between $15 and $30.
