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Etruria (/ɪˈtrʊəriə/; usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia Greek: Τυρρηνία) was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria.
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Etruscan Etruria
The ancient people of Etruria are labelled Etruscans, and their complex culture was centered on numerous city-states that rose during the Villanovan period in the ninth century BC and were very powerful during the Orientalizing Archaic periods. The Etruscans were a dominant culture in Italy by 650 BC, surpassing other ancient Italic peoples such as the Ligures, and their influence may be seen beyond Etruria's confines in the Po River Valley and Latium, as well as in Campania and through their contact with the Greek colonies in Southern Italy (including Sicily). Indeed, at some Etruscan tombs, such as those of the Tumulus di Montefortini at Comeana (see Carmignano) in Tuscany, physical evidence of trade has been found in the form of grave goods—fine faience ware cups are particularly notable examples. Such trade occurred either directly with Egypt, or through intermediaries such as Greek or Phoenician sailors.
Rome, buffered from Etruria by the Silva Ciminia, the Ciminian Forest, was influenced strongly by the Etruscans, with a series of Etruscan kings ruling at Rome until 509 BC when the last Etruscan king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was removed from power and the Roman Republic was established. The Etruscans are credited with influencing Rome's architecture and ritual practice; it was under the Etruscan kings that important structures such as the Capitolium, Cloaca Maxima, and Via Sacra were realized.
The Etruscan civilization was responsible for much of the Greek culture imported into early Republican Rome, including the twelve Olympian gods, the growing of olives and grapes, the Latin alphabet (adapted from the Greek alphabet), and architecture like the arch, sewerage and drainage systems.
Roman Etruria
In the augustean organisation of Italy, Etruria was the name of a region (Regio VII), whose borders were the Tiber, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Apuan Alps and the Apennines, roughly coincident with those of Etruscan Etruria.
Etruria in modern times
The classical name Etruria was revived in the early 19th century and applied to the Kingdom of Etruria, an ephemeral creation of Napoleon I of France in Tuscany which existed from 1801 to 1807.
A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H. Lawrence's Sketches of Etruscan Places and other Italian essays.
Cities
Latin and Italian names are given between parentheses:
There was a period between 600 BC and 500 BC, in which 12 Etruscan city-states formed a loose confederation known as the Etruscan League. Etruscan was the official language for meetings. When Etruria was conquered by the Roman Republic, Latin became the official language.