Editing Veii (section)

=== City of Veii===
The city of Veii lies mainly on a [[tuff]] plateau {{convert|190|ha|0|abbr=off}} in area.<ref name=AND317>{{Cite book|pages=317–342|title=Urbanization in the Mediterranean in the 9th to 6th centuries BC|editor-first=Helle Damgaard |editor-last=Andersen|edition=illustrated|publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press|first1=Alessandra|last1=Bernardinetti|first2=Anna de|last2=Santis|first3=Luciana|last3=Drago|contribution=Burials as Evidence for Proto-Urban Development in Southern Etruria: the Case of Veii|year=1997|isbn= 978-87-7289-412-6|location=Copenhagen}}</ref>

The Valchetta flows a few miles eastward to join the [[Tiber River]] on the south side of [[Labaro]] along the [[Via Flaminia]] and Veii's territory included this area.

Its proximity to the Tiber and the trade route to the interior, which became the Via Flaminia, augmented its prosperity. The Veiians were known to trade with nearby Greece, as well as with the Phoenicians that made up the Levant region. Many Grecian pottery shards have been found throughout the site, dating from as far back as the 8th century BC.<ref name="auto">{{cite web | url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Veii/ | title=Veii }}</ref> Although the river brought wealth and affluence to Veii, it also placed it in competition with Rome for the domination of [[Latium]]. 

The temple of [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] was the greatest and most honoured in the city.<ref name="Plutarch: Camillus">Plutarch: Camillus</ref>

The largest visible monument is the [[Portonaccio (Veio)|sanctuary of Minerva]] from the 7th c. BC, situated along an important route just outside the city (at modern Portonaccio). Prior to their influx of wealth around the 7th century BC, the people of Veii preferred to worship their gods and goddesses in the open air. Early "temples" consisted of small shrines surrounded by foliage. Due to their affinity to the stars, many Veiians preferred to worship under the night sky. Once the city began to prosper, an official temple was built of wood and stone. The sanctuary was one of the oldest and most revered in Etruria, standing out for its sumptuous polychrome terracotta decorations, many of which can be seen today in the [[Villa Giulia]]. The sanctuary included the temple of Apollo of about 510 BC to which belonged the [[Apollo of Veii]] (now in the National Etruscan Museum).

The impressive thermal baths and the forum built under [[Augustus]] have been partially excavated in recent years.

Many rich ''[[tumulus|Tumuli]]'' and [[chamber tomb]]s have been found. The most famous is the [[Grotta Campana]] uncovered in 1843, a chamber tomb with the oldest known Etruscan [[fresco]]es.

There are also long tunnels leading into the plateau of the city, which may corroborate [[Livy]]'s account of the Roman victory in the Battle of Veii.

The walls of Veii, of which small sections remain, bordered the two intersecting streams using the streambeds as a ditch, with a wall across the plateau closing the triangle.<ref>{{Cite book|page=195|title=A comparative study of thirty city-state cultures| editor-first=Mogens Herman |editor-last=Hansen|first=Mario|last=Torelli|contribution=The Etruscan City-State|publisher =Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab|year=2000|isbn= 978-87-7876-177-4|location=Copenhagen}}</ref>