Tomba degli Hescanas en - Tomba degli Hescanas en

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Tomb of the Hescanas

The Tomb of the Hescanas is an Etruscan burial site dating back to the late 4th century BC, located in Molinella, near Castel Rubello, in the municipality of Porano.

Carved into the tuff of a small wooded hill, at the base of which flows the Montacchione stream, the tomb belonged to the aristocratic Hescanas family, as attested by the inscriptions found inside. It is one of the few painted tombs still visitable in situ in the Orvieto area, along with the Golini I and II Tombs of the Settecamini Necropolis, whose frescoes are preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Orvieto.

Visiting the Tomb of the Hescanas is a unique opportunity to discover Etruscan customs through depictions of everyday life and religious beliefs, still visible in the wall paintings preserved onsite.

Rock-cut architecture: inside the Tomb of the Hescanas

Already found violated in the late 19th century during tuff extraction works, the Tomb of the Hescanas still retains the distinctive features of Etruscan funerary architecture.

Entirely carved from tuff rock, it has a square layout and follows the typical structure of aristocratic hypogean tombs:

Monumental dromos: a slightly descending corridor about 16 meters long leading to the entrance of the burial chamber.
Double entrance door: from the dromos one enters a small vestibule through two doorways, originally plastered and decorated with two painted snakes — a recurring symbol in Etruscan funerary culture.
Double-pitched ceiling: carved from tuff to imitate the wooden structure of a gabled roof, with faux beams sculpted from the rock.
Bench for sarcophagi: along the walls runs a bench on which lie two peperino sarcophagi imitating wooden chests, and an urn with a lid bearing the name of the deceased: Vel Hescnas.

Banquets and processions into eternity: the tomb’s wall paintings

The Hescanas family commissioned a rich pictorial decoration inside the tomb, depicting the funerary banquet held in honour of the deceased.

All the walls were originally adorned with a painted frieze, bordered below by a wave pattern. Although the paintings are now partially damaged by time, a faithful replica was skilfully created about a decade after their discovery. Today, it is preserved in Porano at the PAAO Visitor Centre (CEA), housed in the former orangery of Villa Paolina, where the original decoration is faithfully reconstructed.

Entrance to the Tomb of the Hescanas

Interior of the Tomb of the Hescanas

Funerary inscription of Vel Hescnas

The right wall: the soul’s journey

The scene on the wall to the right of the entrance shows the deceased on a chariot drawn by red horses heading toward the afterlife, anticipating the main decoration on the right-hand wall, the best-preserved part of the tomb, which features twelve figures arranged in four groups:

First group: a young man shown writing with a stylus faces a winged figure, possibly a female spirit guiding the soul to the afterlife.
Second group: four figures, including two young men embracing at the centre — possibly brothers saying farewell or souls reunited in the afterlife. Above them appear the names Vel and Laris along with the word “zil,” referring to zilath, an important Etruscan magistrate. Flanking them are two young women, perhaps female spirits of the afterlife without wings. One of these is the best-preserved figure of the tomb, notable for the graceful gesture of lifting the corner of her yellow, red-trimmed gown as she hurries toward the central pair.
Third group: three men with simple clothing and bare feet — possibly servants. Two play a circular horn and a lituus (Etruscan curved trumpet), while the third holds two staffs and a caduceus, possibly leading the funerary procession.
Fourth group: two women and a youth. The first woman, richly dressed and adorned with jewellery, is followed by a tall, noble-looking matron with a veiled head — likely a deceased member of the family. The two young men may be her relatives.

The back wall

Though the central section is almost entirely missing, the back wall preserves shows:

A young man leaning on a long staff, preceded by a winged female spirit holding a partially unrolled scroll in her left hand — a symbol of life in Etruscan iconography.
A man (missing the upper torso), likely resting against an altar covered by a goat or sheep skin (only one hoof remains visible). To his right, a mutilated female figure.
Another winged female spirit, holding a patera (libation dish) in one hand and an alabastron (ointment jar) in the other.
Finally, a youth with a jug in hand, identified by the inscription above: Etenace Hescanas.

The left wall paintings: the funerary banquet

Though heavily damaged, the left wall retains traces of dining couches (triclinia), suggesting it depicts a banquet held in honour of the deceased.

This theme is completed on the wall to the left of the entrance, which shows a table with three equine-shaped legs. On the table are four liquid containers and one larger vessel for pouring, while at its base lie three large storage jars (olle).

The scene ends with a youth leaning on a staff, whose name appears in the inscription above: Tetinate Hescanas.

Did you know?

The Tomb of the Hescanas, along with numerous necropolises and tombs scattered throughout the Orvieto region, reflects the rising influence of a new aristocratic class which, starting in the early 4th century BC, began choosing burial grounds farther from urban settlements.

At the same time, the large urban necropolises once used by the leading families – such as the Cannicella or Crocifisso del Tufo necropolis, situated around the tuff cliffs of Orvieto – began to fall out of use.

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Main attractions in the vicinity