The Etruscans were the original inhabitants of central Italy. Centuries before Rome's rise, they built cities such as Pompeii, Capua, and Orvieto along fortified hilltops. They developed a system of roads and invented what we call the Roman arch. Without the Etruscans, much of what we associate with the Roman world, and thus the foundations of Western civilization, would largely disappear.
The Etruscans were the original inhabitants of central Italy. Centuries before Rome's rise, they built cities such as Pompeii, Capua, and Orvieto along fortified hilltops. They developed a system of roads and invented what we call the Roman arch. Without the Etruscans, much of what we associate with the Roman world, and thus the foundations of Western civilization, would largely disappear.
