People from the East: the mystery of the Etruscans                                                                                     Among all populations of ancient Italy, the Etruscans are worth a special place in our consideration.

Their long history harks back to the beginning of the 1st Millennium BC, and comes to an end at the dawn of the Christian Era. The Etruscans occupy a relevant position in the works of classical writers, from both the Greek and Roman worlds. Their name appears in the Annales by Livius, and Virgil mentions them in his mythical account of early Rome. According to the hypothesis of the Greek historian Herodotus, the Etruscans migrated from Anatolia, crossing the Aegean and the Mediterranean towards the sunny shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Even to this day, Tuscany, Umbria and Latium preserve many traces of forgotten Etruscan cities and cemeteries. Centuries of lucky discoveries and organized excavations have brought to light a wealth of objects: sculptures, paintings and other masterpieces from Etruscan handcraft and art workshops. In spite of the fascination emanating from these finds, that witness to a highly developed society, the Etruscans, that spoke an unknown undeciphered language, still represent an uncanny and puzzling phenomenon.

Numerous enigmas cast over these first inhabitants of Tuscany an impenetrable shade of secret and mistery…