Cisalpine Gaul

The Continental Celts had their origin and dominion in what is now France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland during the Iron Age, and their territory expanded across much of continental Europe. Cisalpine Gaul was the Gaulish region in what is now northern Italy, and its history begins with the invasion guided by Belloesus, and the creation of Mediollanum (Milan), the most important Gaulish settlement in the region. 

 

We can see the Gaulish influence within the Liguri people, due to a possible linguistic kinship that still exists today with the Ligurian dialect, and with other less known cultures who inhabited the region and who possibly had contact with the Celts, as is the case with the Lepontics and Veneti. The Etruscans also had contact with the Gauls, both as enemies in the case of Belloesus who defeated local Etruscans in his conquest, and as allies against Roman dominion in northern Italy. 

 

After the end of the Second Punic War, Cisalpine Gaul finally became a Roman province. The Romanization process affected Gaul as a whole and the Romano-Celtic wars were in fact a violent period in which the Gauls were considered to be the great enemies of Rome. However, in less than two centuries, Cisalpine Gaul became an integral part of the Empire. Also due to a geographical reason, the romanization process was intense and profound, affecting their customs, clothing and obviously their religious practices where they honored Celtic, Roman and Italic deities in a new system that is found on the crossroads between the two cultures.