
The Etruscans were a powerful & influential civilization in ancient Italy But despite their prominence they are often misrepresented as mysterious
- a strange unknowable people whose language & culture have largely vanished Lucy Shipley's new history of the Etruscans presents a different picture of a people who traded with Greece & shaped the development of Rome who inspired Renaissance artists & Romantic firebrands & whose influence is still felt strongly in the modern world Covering colonialism & conquest misogyny & mystique Etruscan history is woven with the very latest archaeological evidence to provide a unique perspective on this enigmatic culture revealing how much we now know & how much still remains undiscovered The book explores Etruscan culture through a series of stories that also reveal the biases & prejudices of the present day It describes the journey of Etruscan objects from the point of their creation through the story of their use loss rediscovery & reinvention From the wrappings of an Egyptian mummy displayed in a fashionable salon to the extra-curricular activities of a member of the Bonaparte family it takes us on an extraordinary voyage through Etruscan archaeology that leads to surprising & intriguing places