Arched gate, Etruscan lion, Pisa.

Near the Etruscan center of Viterbo, an Etruscan citadel now called Acquarossa was destroyed ca 500 BC and never rebuilt,^[1] thus preserving relatively undisturbed Etruscan structures, which have been excavated under the auspices of the Swedish Institute. The walls of the houses were of various construction, some built of dressed blocks of volcanic tuff, some of sun-dried bricks framed within wooden poles and beams that formed a kind of half-timbered construction, and some of wattle and daub construction, in which hurdles of brushwood or reed were covered with clay. House plans range to two or three rooms in a row, with an entrance that was normally on the long side; the hearth was set either near the center of the room or into the back wall. The rock-cut chamber tombs executed in the same time-frame display close analogies with these house types. Decorative architectural features of terracotta, which have usually been associated with temple constructions, were found at Acquarossa in domestic settings: acroteria, painted roof tiles, and antefixes. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 434 KB) Summary City walls of Pisa, Italy Own photo - photo taken by Georges Jansoone on 10 October 2005 Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Pisa Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 434 KB) Summary City walls of Pisa, Italy Own photo - photo taken by Georges Jansoone on 10 October 2005 Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Pisa Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the... Country Italy Region Lazio Province Viterbo (VT) Mayor Giampiero Gabbianelli Elevation 326 m Area 406,28 km² Population  - Total 60,537  - Density 148. ... Welded tuff at Golden Gate in Yellowstone National Park Tuff (from the Italian tufo) is a type of rock consisting of consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during a volcanic eruption. ... Timber framing is the modern term for the traditional half-timbered construction in which timber provides a visible skeletal frame that supports the whole building. ... Categories: Stub | Construction ... An acroterion or acroterium is an architectural ornament placed on a flat base called the acroter or plinth, and mounted at the apex of the pediment of a building in the Classical style. ... Ante-Fixae (from Lat. ...

Etruscan architectural features are too extensive at Rome to be considered a mere influence. The oldest wall at Rome, dating to the early monarchy, is built in the style called opus quadratum after the roughly 4-sided blocks. The style was in use at Suti, Falerii, Ardea, and Tarquinia.

In addition to their walls, the Etruscans insisted on sewage and drainage systems, which are extensive in all Etruscan cities. The cloaca maxima, “great sewer”, at Rome is Etruscan. The initial Roman roads, dikes, diversion channels and drainage ditches were Etruscan. More importantly, the Etruscans brought the arch to Rome, both barreled arches and corbelled arches, which can be seen in gates, bridges, depictions of temple fronts, and vaulted passages.

Homes also were built in Etruscan style: a quadrangle of rooms around an open courtyard. The roof was of a type called cavoedium tuscanicum: two parallel beams crossing in one direction on which rafters were hung at right angles.