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.