ItalyUpdate

A group of researchers from the Universities of Florence and Ferrara have discovered traces of Etruscan DNA in modern inhabitants of Volterra and the Casentino area of Tuscany. By comparing DNA samples taken from bones in the Tarquinia and Casenevole necropoli with 370 modern Tuscany inhabitants and 5000 from other Mediterranean countries, scientists have been able to ascertain that the Etruscans were in fact a native race of Italy and not, as some ancient writers claimed, an immigrant race from Anatolia.

However, no relationship has been found with native Tuscans in other parts of the province, probably due to the mass migrations of the last few centuries, researchers believe.