CAERE

modern Cerveteri ancient city of Etruria, about 30 miles (50 km) northwest of Rome. The English word ceremony comes from the Latin caeremonium, meaning that which has to do with Caere, and reflects the Etruscan fascination with divination and prophecy. Through its port, Pyrgi, the city became an important Etruscan trading centre. In 253 BC Caere, supporting Tarquinii (modern Tarquinia) against Rome, was defeated and partially incorporated into the Roman state with voting rights for its citizens, a status known as the jus Caeritum. Although prosperous under the empire, it declined during the succeeding centuries. The most important of the many tomb chambers excavated in the area is the Regolini-Galassi, the gold and silver objects from which are thought to provide proof of an Orientalizing tendency in the Etruscan art of the 7th century BC.