Etruschi e Veneti. Acque, culti e santuari

The major exhibition Etruschi e Veneti. Acque, culti e santuari will arrive in autumn at Fondazione Luigi Rovati, as part of a collaboration with the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and the National Institute of Etruscan and Italic Studies.

An unprecedented and distinctive comparison, the exhibition presents a comparative investigation into the foundational role of water in the sacred sphere and in the development of societies in two major pre-Roman Italian civilizations—the Etruscans and the Veneti—during the first millennium BCE. Seas, rivers, healing springs and thermal waters emerge as privileged environments for contact with the divine, spaces of healing, as well as places for collective growth, transit and cultural exchange. In the rooms of the Doge’s Apartment at Palazzo Ducale, Etruschi e Veneti. Acque, culti e santuaritakes shape as a narrative exploring the complex and fascinating world of ancient religious practices, in which water assumes a generative, therapeutic and identity-defining value.

A project of broad scientific and public scope, the exhibition highlights the dialogue between two civilizations with different geographies and cultural roots, between which exchanges and relationships flourished along the boundary of the “land between two rivers,” between the lower course of the Adige and the ancient eastern course of the Po. These exchanges involved raw materials—made possible by the opening of new trade routes—as well as ideas, cultures and knowledge. Rivers, seas and waters stand as emblems of constant movement, like that of people, converging and fostering forms of mutual understanding. The exhibition brings together archaeological artifacts of extraordinary value, many of them previously unseen and originating from recent excavations, thanks to loans of exceptional prestige from major Italian museum institutions. It thus represents an advanced synthesis of archaeological research, combining scholarly rigor with strong public impact.

Curated by Chiara Squarcina and Margherita Tirelli, the exhibition is organized by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia, under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and the National Institute of Etruscan and Italic Studies—in particular its Etruria Padana section—and realized in collaboration with Fondazione Luigi Rovati in Milan.

With the patronage of the Ministry of Culture and the National Institute of Etruscan and Italic Studies.