Before Rome, there were the Etruscans. They ruled central Italy from 800–300 BC, invented much of what Rome would claim as its own (arches, togas, gladiatorial combat), and left behind extraordinary painted tombs.
Plan a history trip →A confederation of 12 city-states (the Dodecapolis) across modern Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria. Origin: debated for 2,500 years (Greek historian Herodotus said from Lydia/Turkey; DNA evidence increasingly supports local Italian origin). Language: non-Indo-European, partially deciphered. Religion: obsessed with divination (reading livers, lightning, bird flight).
Cerveteri (Banditaccia necropolis, €8, 40km north of Rome): a city of the dead with circular tumulus tombs. UNESCO. Tarquinia (painted tombs, €8, 90km north of Rome): vivid frescoes showing banquets, dancing, diving into the sea — the Etruscans seemed to enjoy life more than anyone before or since. Museo Etrusco di Villa Giulia, Rome (€10): the Sarcophagus of the Spouses (a married couple reclining at a banquet, smiling, 6th century BC — the most joyful ancient artwork in existence). Volterra: Etruscan walls, Guarnacci Museum (€8). Orvieto: Etruscan temple foundations, underground tunnels.
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