- 01/12/2025 The Etruscans in the Netherlands. Forty years after the Etruscans Project - From 6th December 2025
The MAEC – Museum of the Etruscan Academy and the City of Cortona presents “The Etruscans in the Netherlands. Forty years after the Etruscans Project”, a major international exhibition that brings back to Italy a selection of works from the famous Corazzi Collection.
From 6th December 2025 to 15th March 2026, the MAEC takes part in the Etruscan Project 85/25 with a landmark event: an exhibition of 150 objects, including 10 precious Etruscan bronzes on from the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden. The initiative, organised by the MAEC together with the Dutch museum, with the contribution of Comune di Cortona and Regione Toscana, and the collaboration of Accademia Etrusca, Fondazione Luigi Rovati and Soprintendenza Archeologica, is supported by Banca Popolare di Cortona.
The exhibition celebrates the historic bond between Cortona and Leiden, a relationship born in the context of 19th-century European collecting and now renewed on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Etruscans Project, which in 1985 marked a turning point in archaeological outreach and in the promotion of Tuscan heritage.
The exhibition takes visitors on a journey through three centuries of discoveries and cultural exchanges: from the studies of the Accademia Etrusca in the 18th century to the landmark year 1985, to the journey of the Cortona artefacts to the Netherlands and the birth of the Etruscan collection in Leiden. The temporary return of the bronzes from the Corazzi Collection, which arrived in the Netherlands two centuries ago, allows to retrace a history of international relations and antiquarian passions that continue to inspire research today.
The exhibition concludes with a focus on the most recent archaeological discoveries in the Cortona area and on the Etruscan legacy in contemporary art, a sign of a living cultural tradition in constant transformation.
Info
Opening: Friday, 5th December 2025, 4.30 p.m.
Location: Sala del Consiglio comunale, Cortona
Open to the public: 6th of December 2025 - 15th March 2026
Location: MAEC – Museo dell’Accademia Etrusca e della Città di Cortona