Introducing "Encountering the Etruscans"

Encountering the Etruscans is a student-curated exhibition led by Professor Lisa Pieraccini, a specialist in Etruscan art and archaeology. Drawing on the Hearst Museum’s remarkably deep yet rarely displayed Etruscan artifacts, the show revives Phoebe Apperson Hearst’s original vision of a teaching collection: objects brought out of storage, closely studied in a seminar, and then interpreted for the public through a cohesive story. For years, staffing and space constraints meant that thousands of artifacts, from everyday ceramics to ritual objects, were largely unseen. This exhibition turns that challenge into an educational model where students learn by researching, handling, and debating the material, then collaborate to craft an accessible narrative that connects ancient central Italy to today’s visitors. 

Encountering the Etruscans, opening December 5th, 2025, is the first of three Bay Area exhibits to open this academic year that centers the Etruscans. In Spring 2026, another student-led exhibition will go up in Doe Library, as well as an international exhibition at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.

Lisa Pieraccini handling art from Encountering the Etruscans.

Seminar students observing objects from the Encountering the Etruscans exhibit.