The period of time when a cultural group known as the Villanovans were arriving
from Central Europe, the Greeks were colonizing the southern part of Italy and
Rome was beginning to grow, is known as the geometric period.
And it lasted from approximately
a 1000 BC to around 675 BC.
The Romans belonged to a group of people who had made settlements
around the area of Rome at a number of sites.
They were known as the Latins or the Latial culture,
L-A-T-I-A-L, Latial culture to archeologists.
And the general area of their tribal affiliation is known as Latium.
North of the Romans, well north of them, and
the broader area of Latium, there were also vast resources of metal,
that became increasingly exploited after 1,000 BCE.
And south of Rome, there were good harbors and
fertile lands which could allow settlers.
This southern area, including Sicily, became increasingly
settled by Greeks who were emigrating from their native lands for
a variety of reasons, warfare, famines, trade, or just high adventure.