The Etruscans

By Massimo Pallottino (who directed many archaeological excavations in Etruria and Sardinia), Hand P21, published 1975 by Indiana University press, Revised, enlarged Hardcover Edition based on the sixth Italian edition. Publisher's statement: "Before the Romans could establish their empire they had first to conquer and unify the other cities and peoples of Italy. The most powerful of these peoples were the Etruscans, who formed a highly cultured civilization between the Tiber and the Arno, north of Rome. This civilization has exercised a powerful appeal over the minds of men even in antiquity, and the fanciful hypotheses of scholars and others have given birth to the popular notion that the Etruscans were a 'mysterious' people whose origins are unknown and whose language is decipherable. Professor Pallottino, in this authoritative, updated, and newly translated work, sweeps aside the many myths and fantasies that have been associated with Etruscan studies and sets forth in lucid and comprehensive fashions the findings of reliable scholarship." 317pp, bibliography, index, numerous illustrations. Chapters on: The Etruscans and their Place in the History of Italy and the Mediterranean (Italy at the Dawn of History; Problem of Etruscan Origins; The Etruscans and the Sea; The Etruscans and Italy); Aspects of the Civilization of Etruria (Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria; Political and Social Organization of Etruria; Etruscan Religion; Literature & the Arts; Life and Customs); The Etruscan Language; The Results. Edited by David Ridgway, Translated by F. Cremona