The Villanovan culture, regarded as the earliest phase of the Etruscan civilization, was the earliest Iron Age culture of Italy. It directly followed the Bronze Age Proto-Villanovan culture which branched off from the Urnfield culture of Central Europe. The name derives from the locality of Villanova, a fraction of the municipality of Castenaso in the Metropolitan City of Bologna where, between 1853 and 1855, Giovanni Gozzadini found the remains of a necropolis, bringing to light 193 tombs, of which there were 179 cremations and 14 inhumations.

The Metropolitan City of Bologna is a metropolitan city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is de facto the city of Bologna, though the body does not explicitly outline it. It was created by the reform of local authorities and established by the Law 56/2014, replacing the province of Bologna. It has been operative since 1 January 2015.