The Faliscans and the Capenates

Among the least mentioned peoples of central pre-Roman Italy, both the epigraphic and the archaeological records give us the opportunity to distinguish the Faliscan and Capenate cultures, which have often been inaccurately lumped together in the archaeological literature. The Capenates spoke an Italic language and the Faliscans a kind of Latin dialect, but both their cultures were strongly infuenced by their neighbors, the Etruscans. This chapter follows the development of the two regions in the Iron Age, when the main settlements took shape in the lower Tiber River Valley, with cultural and commercial links to both the central Tyrrhenian and the inner Italic communities. The growing complexity of the political structures is evident from the sacred areas, the necropoleis, and, more generally, the infrastructure. From the fifth century onward, Rome’s interest in the area escalated; in the conflicts that ensued, the Faliscans and Capenates often fought on the Etruscans’ side. Ultimately, of course, both areas were annexed by Rome.