At the time of the transition between prehistory and history, the Etruscans (or Tirreni) built a high civilization in the heart of Italy, long before Rome, laying the foundations for the future rise of Europe VIDEO. Starting from Tuscany, they expanded southwards until they reached Campania, colliding with the colonies of Magna Graecia. Tirreni was an exonym used by Greek authors to refer, in a generic sense, to non-Greek peoples, and to barbarian pirates. It is also the name with which the Greeks called theyr enemies Etruscans,

Nuceria Alfaterna (Nocera), Marcìna (Vietri sul Mare), Irnthi (Fratte), Amina (Pontecagnano) could have formed an Etruscan urban confederation derived from the inclusion in the large area between Sorrento and Poseidonia (the Roman Paestum) to prevent its complete Greekization like the Italian southeast.

Anyway, with the battle of Cuma in 474 BC (naval clash fought between the Siceliot Syracusan and the Etruscan fleets), the Syracusan put an end to the Etruscan expansion in Hellenic Italy and dealt a severe blow to the political influence they exercised in continental Italy. The Romans, the Samnites and the Gauls took advantage of the situation that arose.