Historians do not agree whether they were a group of inhabitants or conquered the country and were actually descended from the Greeks.​

They were an intelligent and powerful civilization and their wealth was mainly due to the export of metals – mainly copper and iron – which they mined in the area. They became naval power and ruler of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The coast of Tuscany is still called the Etruscan Riviera.

Around the 8th century B.C., it extended its sphere of influence to the present-day regions of Umbria and Lazio. Only 300 years later Etruria, the land of the Etruscans, was taken over by the Romans and the Etruscans allied themselves with them. 89 B.C. the Etruscan country is integrated into the Roman Republic.

The Etruscian villages Velutonia & Populonia

One of the largest Etruscan settlements is the town of Velutonia, northwest of Grosseto. The Etruscans had once had a direct connection to the sea and traded their goods here. The ruins were not discovered and excavated until the end of the 19th century. The old city wall and the Etruscan tombs extend along the slopes of ancient Velutonia and can be visited. Some finds are exhibited in the local museum, but most of them are in Grosseto and Florence.

The small village of Populonia also dates back to the Etruscan period. Already in pre-Christian times they discovered the enormous quantities of iron ore and mined it. It was not until the 1960s that the ruins of the site were discovered during excavations and collected in an archaeological park. Among them are the ancient blast furnaces they used to smelt ore and parts of the old grave town of San Cerbone. In Via del Ferro, the Iron Road, visitors can admire the remains of Etruscan production sites.