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A city of southwestern Etruria (now Lazio), standing on a hill protected by steep cliffs, above a loop made by the river Armenta (Fiora) and two of its tributaries, six miles from the sea. The Armenta valley had known human habitation since early in the second millennium BC, and cemeteries at Vulci containing material going back at least as far as the ninth century bear witness to the early existence of approximately five separate villages on the site.

A coastal city just beyond the northwestern extremity of Etruria. It stood on the right (north) bank of the river Arnus (Arno) at the point where this was joined by the Auser (Serchio). Today the two rivers remain entirely separate, but in ancient times they apparently merged into a single large basin from which their waters debouched together into the Tyrrhenian Sea; the basin formed one of those large protected sea lagoons and harbors which were features of the Etruscan coastline in antiquity. According to Servius, `Pisae’ means `harbor.’

the Etruscan Velsu, Velzna (Orvieto, from Latin Urbs Vetus, `Old City’)

A city in Campania (southwestern Italy), situated at the southeastern extremity of its plain, twenty miles east of Neapolis (Naples) and seventeen miles southeast of Capua (Santa Maria Capua Vetere)

A city of Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy), surrounded on three sides by the river Mincius (Mincio)—a northern tributary of the Padus (Po)—which was probably navigable for part of its length in ancient times. Mantua stood on the northernmost of two or three islands in the river, at a point where it was broadening into a small lake.

Modern scholars continue to disagree about the origins of the Etruscans. The non-Indo-European language of these remarkable civilizers of what became Italy has not yet been satisfactorily translated. Between 800 and 600 b.c.e., the Etruscans expanded into west-central Italy, establishing Etruria (now in Tuscany) as a home base. The Etruscans became neighbors of the Latins, who had established villages in Rome as early as 1000 b.c.e.

A city in Latium (Lazio), on the border of Campania, sixty-five miles south of Rome, situated on a high hill beside the sea. The site was occupied in prehistoric times. The legend of a Spartan foundation is fictitious. Strabo derives the name from trachys (rough), but it is rather to be connected with Tarquinii, denoting Etruscan settlement, or with the Tarquins, indicating influence exerted by the Etruscan royal dynasty at Rome. However, the town was subsequently taken over by an Italian people, the Volsci, who named it Anxur and built fortifications against the Romans. Nevertheless, the Romans captured the stronghold c 406, captured it for a second time after a rebellion, and established a citizen colony in 329, designed to defeat the coast and hold the Lautulae pass that ran between the Ausonian mountains and the sea. A decisive battle against the Latins was won in the neighborhood fifteen years later.

A city of Etruria on a plateau that in ancient times overlooked the navigable sea lagoon Lake Prilius and the agriculturally rich valley of the river Ombrone, which flowed into the lagoon near the town. The original villages on the plateau amalgamated on a new site in the seventh century BC.

Tuscany, known as Toscana in Italian, is a region of central Italy. The historic home of the ancient Etruscan civilization, Tuscany went on to become a hotbed of European high culture during the Renaissance, which began during the fourteenth century. Its principal city and capital, Florence, remains one of Europe's most important artistic and cultural centers and contains many major museums and galleries, architectural treasures, and artistic masterpieces.

A city on the Adriatic coast of northeastern Italy (Emilia-Romagna) four miles west of the modern town of Comacchio, where the mouth of a branch of the delta of the river Padus (Po) formed a harbor in a sea lagoon

An island in the northeastern Aegean, containing a volcano that was reputed to be the force of Hephaestus (Vulcan), but had become extinct in historical times

There is continuing scholarly debate about the origins of the Etruscans (ih-TRUHS-kuhns). Some scholars view the Etruscans as indigenous to central Italy and direct descendants of Villanovan culture. Others trace the origins of the Etruscans to Asia Minor. However, scholars agree that the Etruscan language and culture were very different from those of other peoples living in Italy and that their level of technology was very advanced.

A city in Umbria (central Italy), situated upon a hill 1620 feet above sea level overlooking the fertile valley of the upper Tiber. The region had at one time been inhabited, according to Servius, by the Sarsinates, one of the tribes of the Umbrians (speaking an Indo-European Italic dialect), from whom Pliny the Elder records that the Etruscans seized three hundred towns. Perusia was among them, founded, apparently, by Clusium (Chiusi), which had only become a city in the sixth or fifth century BC. The place was largely responsible for the spread of the cultural influence of the Etruscans across the Tiber into Umbria, importing for example, their alphabet in the fourth century BC. The inhabitants of Perusia retained pretentious foundation legends that conceal the comparatively late date of its foundation, but testify to its importance in the subsequent epoch, when the stories were devised. In particular, these traditions tell of legendary northern expansion by the Perusians—asserting that their city was founded by Aulestes, the father or brother of Ocnus and mythical founder of Felsina (Bononia) and Mantua: the purpose of such tales was to eclipse the more authentic achievements of Clusium (Chiusi), at a time when the Perusians had thrown off its suzerainty. The artistic influence of Clusium is still to be seen in their sarcophagi of c 475–450 when they also produced important bronze work, including bizarre elongated statuettes that have appealed to modern sculptors.

An inland city in northwestern Etruria, situated on a precipitous hill between the river Era—a southern tributary of the Arnus (Arno)—and the river Caecina (Cecina), of which the valley was rich in metals, exploited, it would appear, by Volaterrae as early as the second millennium BC.