IRNTHI - 6TH/3RD CENTURY BC

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The rest of ancient Oscan-Etruscan settlement of Irnthi (Fratte) are still located and visible on the northern periphery of Salerno, on a low, flat hill. 

The area is part of a much larger settlement, situated in a dominant position at the confluence of the river Irno with the Pastorano and Grancano torrents. The position of the site has always had, within the Irno valley, a strategic value in controlling the natural transport routes, from the nearby Irno river and from the proximity to the sea and the Sorrento peninsula, and an important role in favoring connections among Greeks, Etruscans, and indigenous peoples inhabiting the Gulf of Poseidonia, to the south, and the areas of Sarno, Cumae and Volturno, to the north.

The foundation of Fratte is to be understood as the result of a shift of aristocratic members linked to Tarquinia and Vulci in order to move the Etruscan commercial center of gravity to Campania further north, to counter Poseidonia. 

Since its creation, the clear intent of a planned city emerges: the buildings are equipped with tiles and at the end of the century there are monumental public places. The city has an agger fortification system, a water distribution system and even a sewer system.

It was occupied by the Samnites around the 5th century BC as consequence of the Battle of Cumae (474 BC) as part of the Syracusan sphere of influence.

A passage from Silio Italico refers to a contingent from Salerno who fought bravely alongside the Romans during the battle of Canne (216 BC): “Ille et pugnacis laudavit canvas Salerni / Falcatos enses”; Salerno soldiers who went to war equipped with crescent swords, Etruscan weapons. Silio Italico was perfectly aware of the fact that at the time of Hannibal's invasion Salerno (197 BC) did not yet exist; he probably intended to attribute to the new Roman city the military glories of the previous Etruscan settlement in the area (Irnthi).

The abandonment of the settlement of Fratte is set around the middle of the 3rd century BC, followed by the official birth of Salernum after about half a century.

Location: Salerno SA, Italia

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