The Etruscan civilization, which flourished from the eight until the fifth centuries BC in what is now Tuscany, is one of the most fascinating and mysterious in history. An uninhibited, elemental people, the Etruscans enthralled D. H. Lawrence, who craved their "old wisdom," the secret of their vivacity and love of life. The exhilaration of Lawrence in his Etruscan adventures stands in stark contrast to his intimations of the darkness of Mussolini's Italy at a time when Europe was beginning its inexorable drift toward tragedy.