The ancient settlement of Fratte is located 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, 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 and Volturno, to the north. The first discoveries of the presence of an ancient village in the area of Fratte date to the early nineteenth century when, on the occasion of the construction of the building for the Southern Cotton Manufacturers, there were found scattered materials, out of their context. In this same zone, more than a century later, a necropolis was found, explored between 1927 and 1929 by Amedeo Mauri. The excavation of the inhabited area was then launched in 1947 by P.C. Sestieri, in the hear of the modern quarter of Fratte, in the area of council houses; during the 1950s, an extensive dig was conducted by V. Panebianco, who discovered the presence of an important inhabited centre, now inserted into the archeological park. A new phase of research began in 1985 when, in the context of a more ample re-valuation of the territory of the Irno river, and a fruitful collaboration among the Administration of the Province of Salerno, the Territorial Archeological Superintendency, and the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Salerno. Autore dei testi:Matilde Romito con la collaborazione di Silvia PacificoTraduzioni e voci:Italiano – voce Matilde Romito - Editing audio Associazione Culturale PrismaInglese – traduzione e voce Erich Nicholson - Studio Pippolaticomusic di Luca BechelliImmagini:Tutte le immagini sono di proprietà della Provincia di Salerno, autore Gaetano Guida