Tanella di Pitagora (Etruscan Tomb)
On the slope that drops from Cortona down toward the flat breadth of the Valdichiana, a low cylindrical drum of stone sits in a ring of cypresses, its surface thick with moss, grass pressing in from all sides. This is the Tanella di Pitagora — an Etruscan tomb from the 2nd century BC, built for an aristocratic Cortonese family and named, through a centuries-old geographical confusion, after a philosopher who never set foot here.
The structure is modest in scale, around seven metres across, but its presence on the hillside has a weight that outlasts easy explanation. A barrel-vaulted chamber sits behind a short entrance passage, and a 19th-century restoration stripped away whatever earthen mound once covered the roof, leaving the stone bare and the cypresses to stand in for it.
💛 What travellers fall for
Most visitors approach from the road and find the tomb behind a fence, viewable from roughly twenty metres away. That distance is worth knowing in advance — come for the setting and the context rather than close inspection. Pairing the visit with MAEC, which runs a dedicated cultural itinerary covering the site, gives the stones considerably more to say.
The story behind Tanella di Pitagora (Etruscan Tomb)
The tomb dates to the Hellenistic period, 2nd century BC, and was built for the gens of the cusu — an aristocratic Cortonese family whose name also appears on the Tabula cortonensis, one of the most significant Etruscan bronze inscriptions ever found. Unlike many Etruscan tombs, it was never fully buried and forgotten; Giorgio Vasari noted it in 1566, making his account the first written record. Systematic excavation to uncover it fully came only in the early 19th century.
The name is an accident of history. Cortona and Crotone — the southern Italian city where Pythagoras actually lived and taught — were conflated somewhere along the way, and the association stuck. In 1929, the tomb was donated to the Accademia Etrusca by Mrs. Mary Laparelli Pitti, passing into institutional care.
Good to know
The tomb sits between Camucia and Cortona in the Maestra del Sasso area, a short walk from the town walls. Access is free and the site is open all day. Wear proper shoes — the ground is uneven. No water is available on the route. Contact MAEC at 0575 630415 for current access details.
Spring through early autumn is the most comfortable window — April to October brings warm days and manageable rainfall, with August reaching around 31°C. Winter visits are possible but the ground will be wetter and snow is not unusual between November and March.
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What travellers say about Tanella di Pitagora (Etruscan Tomb)
Nothing to do with Pythagoras, onlyba legend
The gate was closen, even though it said it's open until 19h. Road to the monument is bad maintained.
Interesting burial space.
Super
The story in the ground
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