Etruscan was the language of the Etruscan civilization in the ancient region of Etruria, in Etruria Padana and Etruria Campana in what is now Italy. Etruscan influenced Latin but was eventually completely superseded by it. The Etruscans left around 13,000 inscriptions that have been found so far, only a small minority of which are of significant length; some bilingual inscriptions with texts also in Latin, Greek, or Phoenician; and a few dozen purported loanwords. Attested from 700 BC to AD 50, the relation of Etruscan to other languages has been a source of long-running speculation and study, with it mostly being referred to as one of the Tyrsenian languages, at times as an isolate and a number of other less well-known theories.
The Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis is the longest Etruscan text and the only extant linen book, dated to the 3rd century BC, making it arguably the oldest extant European book. Much of it is untranslated because of the lack of knowledge about the Etruscan language, though the words and phrases which can be understood indicate that the text is most likely a ritual calendar. Miles Beckwith points out with regard to this text that "in the last thirty or forty years, our understanding of Etruscan has increased substantially," and L. B. van der Meer has published a word-by-word analysis of the entire text.
Cortona is a town and comune in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic centre of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo.
Mauro Cristofani was a linguist and researcher in Etruscan studies.
Lucos Cozza was an Italian Roman archaeologist.
The Tabula Cortonensis is a 2200-year-old, inscribed bronze tablet in the Etruscan language, discovered in Cortona, Italy. It may record for posterity the details of an ancient legal transaction which took place in the ancient Tuscan city of Cortona, known to the Etruscans as Curtun. Its 40-line, 200-word, two-sided inscription is the third longest inscription found in the Etruscan language, after the Liber Linteus Zagrabiensis and the Tabula Capuana, and the longest discovered in the 20th century.
Tyrsenian, named after the Tyrrhenians is a proposed extinct family of closely related ancient languages put forward by linguist Helmut Rix (1998), which consists of the Etruscan language of northern, central and south-western Italy, and eastern Corsica (France); the Raetic language of the Alps, named after the Rhaetian people; and the Lemnian language of the Aegean Sea. Camunic in northern Lombardy, between Etruscan and Raetic, may belong to the family as well, but evidence of such is limited. The Tyrsenian languages are generally considered Pre-Indo-European and Paleo-European.
Corpus Speculorum Etruscorum is an international project with the goal to publish all existing Etruscan bronze mirrors. The first three volumes were published in 1981. A total of thirty-six fascicles has been produced.
Alessandra Melucco Vaccaro was an Italian historian and archaeologist. Her main activity was in the three fields in which she made significant innovations - the High Middle Ages, archaeological restoration, and environment and landscape. President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi conferred the Medaglia d'Oro for culture and art in Vaccaro's memory in February 2001.
Krimisa, Crimisa or Crimissa was an ancient town, probably originating in the 7th century BC, situated in modern Calabria in the region of Punta Alice. It was inhabited by an indigenous people assimilated by the Greeks.
Clelia Giacobini was an Italian microbiologist, and also a pioneer of microbiology applied to conservation-restoration.
Chalcidian pottery is an important style of Western Greek black-figure vase painting.
The Rinaldone culture was an Eneolithic culture that spread between the 4th and the 3rd millennium BC in northern and central Lazio, in southern Tuscany and, to a lesser extent, also in Marche and Umbria. It takes its name from the town of Rinaldone, near Montefiascone in the province of Viterbo, northern Lazio.
The Nuraghe Arrubiu is one of the largest nuraghes in Sardinia. It is in Orroli, in the province of South Sardinia. Its name means "red nuraghe" in the Sardinian language, which derives from the basalt stones it had been built with.
Lamberto Loria was an Italian ethnographer, naturalist and explorer.
The National Archaeological Museum of Altino is an archaeology museum next to the archaeological site of Altinum. It is located in the frazione Altino of the municipality of Quarto d'Altino, in the Metropolitan City of Venice.
The Etruscan Well, also known as "Sorbello well" from the name of the noble family which still owns the mansion which includes the structure, is located in the old town of Perugia. Entrance to the well, currently open to the public as a museum, is from no. 18 piazza Danti, through a covered walkway which leads to the underground sections of Palazzo Sorbello.
The Lead Plaque of Magliano, which contains 73 words in the Etruscan language, seems to be a dedicatory text, including as it does many names of mostly underworld deities. It was found in 1882, and dates to the mid 5th century BC. It is now housed in the National Archaeological Museum in Florence.
The Sarcophagus of Laris Pulenas, also known as "The Magistrate," dates from the 2nd or 3rd century BCE. It was discovered in Tarquinia in Italy and is now in the Tarquinia National Museum.
