Ligures

The Ligures (Ligurians) were an ancient people who gave their name to Liguria, which once stretched from Northern Italy into southern Gaul. The Ligures inhabited what now corresponds to Liguria, northern Tuscany, Piedmont, part of Lombardy, and parts of southeastern France. Classical references and toponomastics suggests that the Ligurian sphere once extended further into central Italy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It is not known for certain whether they were a pre-Indo-European people akin to Iberians; a separate Indo-European branch with Italic and Celtic affinities; or even a branch of the Celts. Kinship between the Ligures and Lepontii has also been proposed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Ligures were assimilated by the Romans, some perhaps even by Gauls.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

See also:Ligurian language.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Liguria: Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. It borders France to the west, Piedmont to the north, and Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany to the east. It lies on the Ligurian Sea, a part of the Tyrrhenian Sea (northern Mediterranean Sea)....

Italy: Italy (Italian: Repubblica Italiana or Italia) is a country in southern Europe. It comprises a boot-shaped peninsula and two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia, and shares its northern alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. The independent countries...

Gaul: Gaul (from Latin Gallia, c.f. Greek Galatia) is the region of Western Europe occupied by present-day France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river....