The exact date when Tarchuna came under Roman domination remains uncertain to modern historians. In 181 BC, the port known as Graviscae became a Roman colonia despite its unhealthy position on the coast due to malaria from nearby marshes.
The main necropolis of Tarchuna sits to the southeast of the medieval town on the hill named Monterozzi and contains some 6,000 tombs with at least 200 including beautiful wall paintings. These structures were tumulus tombs with chambers carved directly into the rock below the surface dating from the Iron Age specifically the 9th century BC or Villanovan period.
Myths connected with this place spoke of an eponymous founder named Tarchon described either as the son or brother of Tyrrhenus. Another legend told of Tages an infant oracle who gifted the Etruscans their sacred religious knowledge called disciplina etrusca.
The name Corneto changed to Tarquinia in 1922 under new national policies. Reversion to historical place names became a frequent phenomenon under the Fascist Government of Italy as part of their nationalist campaign.
The Italian wine DOC of Tarquinia produces red and white frizzante style wines today with grapes limited to a harvest yield of 12 tonnes per hectare. Finished wines need a minimum 10.5 percent alcohol level while red blends require at least 60 percent Sangiovese or Montepulciano and whites need at least 50 percent Trebbiano or Giallo.