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The Etruscans of Iron Age and Classical Italy
The Etruscans of Iron Age and Classical Italy were Rome's first great rivals. They formed a distinct urban society in Central Italy, living alongside italic-speaking groups such as the Latins. Much of what we consider to be stereotypically Roman was either directly borrowed from them or came into being in the context of intense contacts between the groups. In genius engineering of roads and aqueducts, specific religious practices focused on divination and augeries, and even the Latin alphabet.