The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word ETRURIA
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
E
T
R
U
R
I
A
More clues leading to the result ETRURIA
- Film rugby show from East Italian region — once
- Metro burial exposed former core of Italy
- Italian nation once irate about screening rugby
- University central to artier Bohemian region of old Italy
- Old region‘s old city in a rite, dancing
- Edited true broadcast about old country
- Ruralite wrong to ditch large pot plant
- d Regulars departing better hurry in an ancient part of Italy
- I rue art lost in ancient Italy
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "region of old Italy" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case region of old italy = etruria.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.