With the arrival of the first Phocaeans, in about 565 B.C., Corsica enters into
history, coming into contact with the Classical civilisations and participating in the exchanges and in the different commercial circuits of the ancient world. Indeed, the Greeks were not the only ones to have an interest in Corsica. The Etruscans installed bases there. Aleria was to exchange its products with the main cities on the Italic peninsula, and even with Carthage. The pre-Roman Necropolis in Aleria, situated outside the walls, reflects the wealth of the town. Here, objects have been found from regions all around the Mediterranean. The tombs are characterised by the search for a funerary symbolism, distinguished by an obsession with the afterlife. The Romans conquered Corsica and Aleria in 259 B.C.. Its strategic value, practically facing Rome, and its
position on the Tyrrheanian Sea, permitted the control of passages between southern Italy and north-west Europe. Aleria became the capital of the island and was to remain so throughout Ancient times, up until the destruction of the site by the Vandals in 420 A.D.
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