© 2025 Ideastream Public Media

1375 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
(216) 916-6100 | (877) 399-3307

WKSU is a public media service licensed to Kent State University and operated by Ideastream Public Media.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Art Bites 127: Ancient Rome’s Etruscan Roots

3m 23s

Centuries before Rome, a mysterious Etruscan civilization ruled northern Italy. What we know about it we learned from art found in its tombs. In 509 BC the Romans threw out their Etruscan king and the rest is history.

Distributed nationally by American Public Television
Extras
With Europe as our classroom, Rick shares the essential skills for smart, smooth travel.
Mighty fortified walls, awe-inspiring stone tombs, and troves of golden treasures.
Interstitials from Rick Steves showcasing Europe's great art and architecture.
Tombs, catacombs, and early Christian art tell the story of Christianity in Rome
This villa is paved extravagantly with fine mosaics depicting Rome’s rich and powerful.
A local guide brings the Roman Forum to life with her vivid description.
Much of the “art and architecture” of ancient Rome could be found in its infrastructure.
The impact Greece had on Rome can be seen clearly in Roman art and architecture.
We’ll visit the studio of a modern-day marble sculptor in Florence.
Interstitials from Rick Steves showcasing Europe's great art and architecture.
All
  • All
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 12
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 11
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 10
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 9
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 8
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 7
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 6
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 5
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 4
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 3
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 2
  • Rick Steves' Europe Season 1
Greece’s timeless art: Golden Age temples, alluring Venuses, and exuberant Winged Victory.
We marvel at Stone Age cave paintings, mighty megaliths, and mysterious goddesses.
Early Europeans produce diverse art: from Christians to Muslims and Byzantines to Vikings.
Roaming Europe, we admire stately Neoclassical buildings and dramatic Romantic paintings.
The turbulent century and its rule-breaking art—Picasso, Surrealism and edgy architecture.
Shimmering Impressionist canvases by Monet and Renoir, plus Van Gogh, Gauguin and more.
From Portugal to Germany, booming economies and new technologies produce exquisite art.
We marvel at Baroque’s over-the-top churches, palaces, bubbly fountains, and theatric art.
Florence’s bold “rebirth” is powered by the genius of Leonardo, Rafael, and Michelangelo.
The grand cities of ancient Rome’s vast empire and majestic churches of its fall.