The Gregorian Etruscan Museum, founded by Pope Gregory XVI and inaugurated on 2 February 1837, was one of the first expressly dedicated to Etruscan antiques, and it predominantly conserves the artefacts unearthed in the excavations carried out during the preceding years in the sites of some of the most important cities of ancient Etruria, then part of the territory of the Papal State. Works already held in the Vatican and with a long history in other collections also entered the new museums.