English 19th century tourist and later consular George Dennis (1814-1898) travelled through Etruria between 1842 and 1847, in 1842 and 1843 accompanied by the artist Samuel Ainsley. Although from a well-to-do background, he had little formal education and was largely self-educated, especially in the classics, it seems, and spoke eight languages. Dennis of Etruria : a celebration by T.W. Potter (needs subscription but can also be found in HTML by googling) calls him a "great Victorian Traveler".
The fruit of Dennis' Etruscan travels is Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria, first published 1848. Dennis and Ainsley drew numerous sketches – some 112 of Ainsley's are at the British Museum – and Dennis was also his own able cartographer. Apparently intended as a travel guide, the work is much more, given Dennis' diligence and erudition, and indeed it represents the first modern exploration of ancient Etruria. Important to modern archaeologists/etruscologists is the fact that some of the things he described have since disappeared.
Luckily for us, Bill Thayer has transcribed the entire work: Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria (1848) George Dennis. The complete work online. 1165 pages, engravings, maps, and plans. With the author's notes, and comments by Bill Thayer. (Some items still need to be added, and apparently some proofing is still going on.)
Here is the Preface
as well as the chapter CERVETRI. — AGYLLA or CAERE.,
which ties in with our current book discussion, Old Bones.
The work can also be had in paperback in two volumes, a facsimile reprint of the 1883 edition, John Murray, London:
The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria : Volume 1
The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria : Volume 2
