About

The Archaeological park of Cortona is mainly made up of the Etruscan tumulus tombs discovered in Sodo, at the bottom of the old art town. For their rounded shape they have been called melons, Melone I and Melone II. Archeologists have dated these tombs between the seventh and the fourth century B.C. The people who were buried there belonged to rich local families of landowners and metal producers. Melone I was explored for the first time in 1909 and brought to light some chambers, which had been unfortunately robbed over the centuries. On the contrary, melone II was explored in 1927. It is more imposing and monumental than the other and contained priceless funerary equipments, jewels and other beautiful objects. The symbol of this archeological site is a terraced altar used for sacrifices, the one of its kind, embellished with sculptures representing fighting scenes between humans and mythological monsters. The Tanella di Pitagora is also very interesting. It is a Hellenistic tomb dating back to the third-second century B.C. This cylindrical tomb measures about 7 meters in diameter. Scholars maintain this was probably the tomb of Pythagoras or of Archimedes. Unfortunately the monument has been damaged all over the centuries, but today Cortona is carrying out a plan to guarantee its preservation.