The Senate appointed Camilo Dictator, who made the firm intention to take Veyes before finishing his six-month term. To encourage the troops he promised much of the loot to those who helped to take over the city.

On the other hand, he offered all kinds of sacrifices to the gods and promised to bring them from Veyes gifts for their temples.

To surprise the Etruscan, Camilo ordered to dig a tunnel to the central square of the city of Veyes. The men worked tirelessly day and night until they completed the work successfully.

When Camilo gave the agreed signal, part of the army attacked the walls and others slipped through the tunnel to the heart of the city causing a surprise effect among the Etruscans.

The Etruscans, confused, had no choice but to surrender to the Romans.

The inhabitants were sold as slaves and all the riches were transferred to Rome.

In order to fulfill his promise to the gods, he ordered that all the contents of the Etruscan temples be transferred to the Roman temples. With great care, the chambers of the shrines were emptied, statues and treasures were packed, and a large number of carts were arranged for the transfer of such important objects.

Legend has it that when the statue of Juno, the protective goddess of the city of Veyes, was moved before entering the temple, the young men in charge of her transfer dressed in immaculate white robes and made ablutions.

The statue was huge and among them were discussing the best way to transport it.

At that moment, one of the young men addressed the goddess and I ask her: “Goddess of heaven Do you want to go to Rome?” And before the astonished gaze of those present, the statue nodded his head.

Despite the enormous size of the statue, it was light and transportation very easy.

It seems that the goddess wanted to know Rome and helped them complete their task.

After taking Veyes, Camilo decided to ravage another Etruscan city, Faleria.

Camilo prepared his army and decided to besiege the city waiting for its inhabitants to surrender, but time passed and Camilo failed to achieve his goal.

In the city of Faleria, there was a teacher who had a healthy habit of taking his students out of town on excursion. These young men belonged to noble and respectable families of Faleria.

On a sunny day he took the young men to walk farther than usual, to the same Roman camp. Once there, he appeared before Camilo saying, “You can have the city of Faleria whenever you wish.” My students are children of prominent families, and if you take them hostage, the city will be yours.

Camilo was surprised at this vile proposal and instead of accepting it, he provided his students with sticks to beat him while taking him back to their city.

When in Faleria they learned about what happened, the Etruscans thought that Camilo was an honorable and righteous man because he could have accepted the teacher's proposal, achieving an easy victory but maintained his ethical principles. Then they decided to sign a peace treaty with Rome.

Camilo's fame lasted a while but then things didn't go well and decided to exhilate himself in Ardia.

The Romans had a quiet time but soon the calm was interrupted by new danger: the Gauls were advancing on the Italian peninsula mercilessly razing all those who stood in their way.

por Mirta Fernandez