The Etruscans are perhaps best known for being a mystery. Many people have heard of them but usually only as the neighbors of the Romans. Most people know very little about what they were actually like, or the impact they had on other nations.

The surprising truth is that this “mysterious” nation actually had a profound and lasting impact on the rest of the western world. The Etruscans were closely involved in the development of early Rome and many of Rome’s most famous cultural features can be traced back to them.