The Tuscans' proud claim to be the descendants of the ancient Etruscans has taken a knock .

A DNA comparison of Etruscan skeletons and a sample of living Tuscans has thrown up only "tenuous genetic similarities", said lead researcher Guido Barbujani of Ferrara University .

"If the Tuscans were the direct descendants of the Etruscans the DNA should be the same," said Barbujani, a genetecist who coordinated the study with Stanford University in the United States .

The study, which appears in the current edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, concludes that most modern Tuscans are descended from a non-Etruscan people .

However, it leaves a ray of hope for the Tuscans, who often boast about the heritage that makes them different from other Italians .

"It could be that the skeletons from which we extracted the DNA belonged to an elite group that did not spread demographically," Barbujani said .

The Etruscans are believed to have formed the first advanced civilisation in Italy, based in an area called Etruria, corresponding mainly to present-day Tuscany and northern Lazio .

At the height of their power at around 500 BC - when Rome itself was subjugated - they spread to the foothills of the Alps and southward close to Naples .

Modern knowledge of their civilisation is based largely on archaeological finds, as much of their language has yet to be deciphered .

For many people the Etruscans have a romantic, mysterious aura and there is a raft of web sites devoted to them .

They are a particular favourite among New Age fans .