Old Italian language (8)
I believe the answer is:
etruscan
'old italian language' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for etruscan that I've seen before include "Early Roman" , "Pre-Roman Italian" , "Of an ancient people of central Italy" , "Centaurs (anag) - from an ancient Italian country" , "of an ancient civilization" .)