Velathri

Attributes: | +40% Mine Output, +50% Resource Capacity

**Velathri** is a medium-large faction located in the northwestern part of Etruria, in a defensible pocket between the Apennine Mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is one of only a few factions playable in multiple scenarios, being available in both the Unification of Italy sandbox and the Etruria-only sandbox.

Its starting neighbours in the full Italy sandbox are Veii and Clevsin with some longer routes leading to the territories of the Ligures, North Etruscans and Umbri. In the Etruria-only scenario its main neighbour is Velch, with Clevsin as a more distant neighbour.

### In-game Description

"Velathri is a prominent Etruscan city-state in the north of Etruria that has spread its control over a lot of mineral-rich territory."

### Starting Cities

* **Velathri**: Velathri, known to the romans as Volaterrae, is an Etruscan city located near considerable deposits of metal from which it derives great wealth.
* **Luca**: Luca was founded by the Etruscans on the site of an old Ligurian settlement. Home to Julius Caesar during his years as Governor of Cisalpine Gaul, it was in Luca where Caesar met with Pompey and Crassus to reaffirm the first triumvirate alliance in 56 BCE.
* **Pisae**: The ancient city of Pisae (modern Pisa) has origins shrouded in myth, said by Strabo to have been founded by King Nestor soon after the fall of Troy, and by Virgil to be a thriving centre centuries old at that time. It is known that the Etruscans had control over it in this era, and that it operated as a major naval port, even thought to be the birthplace of the naval ram. It would thrive as a major mercantile republic after the fall of Rome.
* **Viesul**: Viesul, known as Faesulae to the Romans, is a minor Etruscan city mentioned little throughout history. Within can be found a temple to a healing divinity.
* **Pupluna\*\*\***: Pupluna, sometimes spelled Fufluna to better represent its proper pronunciation, is one of the Dodecapoli founded in honour of the Etruscan wine deity Fufluns and one of the Etruscans' few port cities. Virgil's Aenied claims it was initially settled by people from Corsica before people of Velathri chased them out, but this is not consistent with archaeological evidence that suggests a pre-Etruscan Villanovan settlement rather than Corsican and Pupluna's tomb system differs significantly from Velathri's.
* **Ameglia+**: Ameglia is an Etruscan town originally settled by Ligurians that serves as a trading hub between the sea and nearby mountain passes.

**\*\*\***City belongs to Velch in the Etruria-only sandbox

**+**City is outside of the playable area in the Etruria-only sandbox

### Strategy

The Apennine Mountains shield the northern borders of your territory, with only a handful of defensible passes leading through it to the North Etruscans, Umbri and Ligures. As such, it is probably wise to focus on stabilizing your more exposed southern borders first in the full Italy sandbox, before thinking of crossing the Apennines.

In the full map sandbox, Clevsin is the faction you share the longest starting border with and may need to be dealt with first, whether through conquest or diplomacy. Veii is your other main neighbour, though they start out with less potential avenues of approach on your territory. It can be a good strategy to make a truce with one and conquer the other as your first major offensive.

In the Etruria-only sandbox Velch is your main neighbour and probably your first target, with the approach to Clevsin being a lot easier to defend.

Velathri has a strong economic bonus with their extra mine output. The resource capacity bonus is handy for making it through the winter, as Velathri's food supply is highly dependent on fisheries which produce no food at all in that season.

Remember to claim the 2 gold mines on the island of Elba near Pupluna!

### Trivia & History

* Like all factions in Etruria, the cities assigned to the Velathri faction in-game were in reality independent city-states. The game merged the various Etruscan city-states into fewer, larger factions to simplify the faction roster.
* The area north of the Arno river (comprising the cities of Luca, Ameglia and Viesul in-game) originally belonged to Ligurian tribes, but was colonized by the Etruscans in the 6th and 5th Centuries BC.
* Most of the area represented by the Velathri faction in-game was conquered by Rome in the early 3rd Century BC. The area of Ameglia and Luca, however, seems to have reverted to Ligurian control at some point and wasn't definitively dealt with until much later in the 170s BC.
* The faction's icon is a lion's head, with the exact design being taken from ancient Etruscan coins that were produced in Pupluna.