The winged horses of Tarquinia, one of the world's most famous ancient sculptures and the most significant from the Etruscan era, have returned home after being restored .

The horses have only left this town northwest of Rome on three occasions: the world's first major exhibition on Etruscan civilisation in 1955 in Zurich, a Milan show in the 1990s, and the Italian Culture Ministry's Culture Week two months ago. After a year-long restoration which uncovered traces of original colour they have been put on permanent display at the National Archaeological Museum of Tarquinia .

The work of art was found shattered into more than 100 shards by archaeologist Pietro Romanelli in 1938, during excavation work on the Civita of Tarquinia, where the ancient Etruscan city of Civita used to be .

Civita is believed to be one of the major cities of the Etruscans, who dominated north-central Italy before the Romans conquered them and wiped out most traces of their civilisation .

The area around Tarquinia is dotted with ancient towns where Etruscan burial chambers draw thousands of tourists a year. Romanelli's dig brought to light the remains of a huge temple called the Ara della Regina (Altar of the Queen), the largest Etruscan temple ever unearthed. The winged horses, sculpted on a sizeable terracotta panel (114 cm high and 124cm wide), decorated the front of the temple .

They were placed according to the Etruscan style at the head of one of the temple's main frontal supporting beams. The winged horses once pulled a two-wheeled chariot mounted by a god to whom the temple is believed to have been dedicated. The chariot, which decorated an adjacent panel, has been lost. The coloured sculpture was clearly made by an Etruscan master .

He obviously had a comprehensive knowledge of Greek sculpture, which probably inspired the work. The meticulously crafted horses move gradually out of the panel and become a full-blown sculpture as their fine wings and heads emerge. The sculpture is believed to have been made between the end of the fifth century BC and the start of the fourth century BC. After being found, the work was put back together and placed on display at the Tarquinia museum .

In 2004, 66 years after it was found, the local cultural heritage office decided to update and revamp the first restoration. Experts used modern restoration practices and criteria to replace and reinforce old gluing, scrub surfaces and bring to light the age-old colour. Sifting through the objects housed in the museum, they also found the long, bronze nails that once fixed the panel in place .

These were placed in their original position. Finally, a perspex shield was placed on the back of the relief to help visitors understand how it was made .

The restoration of the famous high-relief work was carried out under the guidance of Ingrid Reindell and the scientific direction of Maria Castaldi, an expert at the archaeological heritage office of southern Etruria .