Description
Located in the former Franciscan convent, the Chariot Museum displays the life-size replica (created by the School of Art of Maestro Manzù in 1985) of a Greek-Italic parade chariot dating back to the 6th century BC. The original artifact was discovered in 1902 at Colle del Capitano and has been part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection in New York since 1903.
The Chariot Museum of Monteleone di Spoleto, set in the lower rooms of the San Francesco complex, houses plaster casts and a 1:1 scale replica of the so-called “Etruscan Chariot” (which recent studies instead attribute to a Greek-Ionian artist who migrated to Etruria). The chariot is a 6th-century BC parade vehicle made of wood, gilded bronze, and ivory, with side panels decorated with scenes from the life of Achilles. The replica was produced by the School of Art of Maestro Manzù in 1985 (“The Year of the Etruscans”) and, after a brief stay in the Church of San Gilberto, found its permanent home in the museum exhibition.
The precious artifact was discovered in 1902 by Isidoro Vannozzi, a resident of Monteleone, inside a tumulus tomb during the leveling of the threshing floor in front of his rural home in the Colle del Capitano area. Sold to an antiquarian from Norcia, it has been housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since 1903. Following the recent reassembly of the New York chariot’s components, the Monteleone replica has become an important historical record of the previous reconstruction.
The Chariot Museum of Monteleone di Spoleto, located in the lower rooms of the San Francesco complex (entrance from Piazza Regina Margherita), displays plaster casts and a full-scale replica of the so-called “Etruscan Chariot” (actually Greek-Italic). This ancient ceremonial chariot is unique for its completeness, refined craftsmanship, and exceptionally high level of metallurgical workmanship.
The valuable archaeological find was accidentally discovered in 1902 by Isidoro Vannozzi in a monumental tumulus tomb during work on the threshing floor outside his rural home, located a few kilometers from the village in the Colle del Capitano area. This site is an important archaeological area which, in the years following the discovery and after numerous excavation campaigns, yielded the remains of an older and extensive necropolis (comprising approximately forty-eight pit graves) dating to the transitional period between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age (circa 10th–8th century BC).
The prestigious chariot is now preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which acquired it in 1903 through a series of intermediaries led by an antiquarian from Norcia, who had secretly and not entirely lawfully obtained the artifact in exchange for a negligible sum. The chariot has been at the center of long-standing disputes between the New York museum and the Municipality of Monteleone, which has been seeking its return for some time.
The chariot is made of walnut wood, clad in repoussé-decorated gilded bronze sheets, with applied ivory plaques. The three panels—of which the central one is taller—are elegantly decorated with mythological scenes from the life of Achilles: Thetis presenting arms to her son; Achilles and Memnon fighting over the body of Antilochus; and the apotheosis of Achilles.
The dating to the mid-6th century BC is supported not only by stylistic analysis but also by the rest of the funerary assemblage, which includes two Attic kylikes with miniature black-figure decoration, dated to around 560–550 BC. For decades, scholars debated the chariot’s origin and the hypothesis of Etruscan manufacture; however, recent and more in-depth studies now allow the metalwork to be attributed with greater certainty to a Greek-Ionian artist who migrated to Etruria. Stylistically related works include artifacts where Ionian influence merges with indigenous Etruscan motifs (such as the Loeb tripods and the bronzes of Castel San Mariano, Corciano – PG).
The life-size replica of the chariot was created by the School of Art of Maestro Manzù as part of the 1985 celebrations for the “Year of the Etruscans.” After touring several Italian cities (including Rome) and an initial period in the Church of San Gilberto, it was installed in the permanent exhibition. Through explanatory panels, the exhibition recounts the history of the artifact and its archaeological context. The two exhibition rooms document both the discovery and the dramatic sale of the chariot, as well as the grave goods from the funerary chamber. An archaeological map showing prehistoric, protohistoric, and Roman-Republican sites further attests to the richness and very early human presence in the Monteleone area, predating Romanization, as evidenced by hillforts, settlements (Monte Pizzoro), and several high-altitude sanctuaries (Monte Aspra, Forma Cavaliera).
In recent years, studies conducted on the chariot at the Metropolitan Museum have revealed new data which, following a comprehensive restoration, led to a correct reassembly of the chariot’s elements. The Monteleone replica therefore remains as a historical record of the previous reconstruction.
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