The first great civilization to emerge in the history of Italy, the Etruscans were a people of obscure and mysterious origin, which formed in the beginning of the 7th century BC a large confederation of autonomous cities that allowed them to conquer a great hegemony in the north and center of the Italian peninsula. |
Nevertheless, Etruscan society and culture played a major role in the early formation of Rome. As a city-state in its formative years, Rome developed gradually from a confederated alliance of Latins, Sabines and Etruscans. Inevitably, various elements of Etruscan culture and civilization were assimilated and disseminated by the Romans, who, especially during the republican period, recognized and prided themselves on the peoples who were responsible for their origins.


Wagner