Lazio · Roma
Cerveteri
An Etruscan capital seven kilometers inland from the Tyrrhenian coast, with the Banditaccia necropolis holding 1,000 tombs in the largest ancient cemetery in the Mediterranean.
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 50 min from Rome
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 37,855
Known for
BANDITACCIA
The largest ancient necropolis in the Mediterranean, 400 hectares with around 1,000 Etruscan rock-cut tombs and earth tumuli.
CAERE
One of the twelve great Etruscan city-states, at its sixth-century BC peak fifteen times the area of the modern town.
UNESCO 2004
Listed jointly with Tarquinia for the painted and architecturally elaborate Etruscan funerary cities.
CARCIOFO ROMANESCO DEL LAZIO
The commune lies inside the Carciofo Romanesco del Lazio IGP production zone.
When to visit
Best · May–Sep
- J13°
- F14°
- M15°
- A17°
- M22°
- J26°
- J30°
- A30°
- S26°
- O22°
- N17°
- D14°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 14°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Michele, 8 May
Why come
Cerveteri sits on a tufa outcrop above the coastal plain, seven kilometers inland from the Tyrrhenian and thirty-five northwest of Rome. The Etruscans called it Caisra, the Greeks Agylla, the Romans Caere; at its height around 600 BC it covered fifteen times the area of the modern town and held an estimated 25,000 to 40,000 people, the equal of Tarquinia at the peak of Etruscan power. The medieval town inherited the central plateau and was renamed Caere Vetus, the Old Caere, to distinguish it from the coastal Caere Novum that no longer exists.
The Castello Ruspoli at the centre of the medieval town encloses sections of fourth-century BC Etruscan walls in its base. Two kilometers north, the Banditaccia necropolis covers 400 hectares of which 10 are visitable, with around 1,000 rock-cut tombs and the great earth tumuli that gave Etruscan funerary architecture its most concentrated expression. It joined the UNESCO list with Tarquinia in 2004.
The Sunday letter
Cerveteri is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Cerveteri comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Cerveteri in our articles
The best towns that eat well within an hour of Rome8 towns, Cerveteri among them.
The best towns with a food festival that you can reach by train in Lazio9 towns, Cerveteri among them.
10 quieter bases for seeing Rome10 towns, Cerveteri among them.
10 stops that turn the Rome to Florence drive into three days10 towns, Cerveteri among them.
How to get there
From Rome (FCO), about 55 minutes by car.
Naples / Salerno (NAP) is about 2h 49m away.
By car from the centre of Perugia 2h 43m or Pescara 3 hours.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Rome?
Coming by train into Roma Termini? Cerveteri is about 51 minutes away by road.
What to see
Necropoli della Banditaccia
UNESCO Etruscan necropolis 2 km north of town, covering 400 hectares with around 1,000 tombs and the great earth tumuli that defined Etruscan funerary architecture.
Museo Nazionale Cerite
National Etruscan museum inside the Castello Ruspoli, with sarcophagi, ceramics and grave goods recovered from the Banditaccia tombs.
Castello Ruspoli
Medieval Orsini-Ruspoli fortress at the centre of the old town, with fourth-century BC Etruscan walls preserved in its base.
Tomba dei Rilievi
Hellenistic-era Banditaccia tomb decorated with stuccoed reliefs of weapons, tools and household objects, the most elaborate of its kind.
Centro storico medievale
Medieval upper town on the tufa plateau above the modern centre, with the Piazza Santa Maria and the parish church facing the castle.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Cerveteri fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Arià Osteria di Fuori PortaTrattoria
Arià Osteria di Fuori Porta holds two Gambero Rosso prawns.
Through the year
What happens here
Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.
Festa della Birrafood festival
usually held in August. eventiesagre.it
Sagra della Salsicciafood festival
usually held in September. RomaPop - Sagre, mercatini e fiere a Roma e nel Lazio
Living here
- Population 37,855
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Rome, 55 min drive
- Regional capital Roma, 50 min drive
Common questions
- What is Cerveteri known for?
- Cerveteri is an Etruscan capital seven kilometers inland from the Tyrrhenian coast, with the Banditaccia necropolis holding 1,000 tombs in the largest ancient cemetery in the Mediterranean.
- Where is Cerveteri?
- Cerveteri is a comune in the province of Roma, in Lazio, at 81 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Cerveteri?
- Rome (FCO), about 55 minutes by car.
- Can you get to Cerveteri without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Perugia to Cerveteri?
- About 2h 43m by car.
- When is the best time to visit Cerveteri?
- Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Cerveteri?
- Yes. Festa della Birra and Sagra della Salsiccia. August is when the first of them falls.
- Which other towns are like Cerveteri?
- Orbetello, Sorrento and Nettuno.
- How many people live in Cerveteri?
- 37,855 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 81 m
- Population: 37,855
- Surface area: 134.32 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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