Aleria | Corsica, Roman Ruins

Aleria is a city on the east coast of the island of Corsica which is located 43 miles (70km) south of Bastia, in the Haute-Corse Department of France.
It was a major naval base for the Roman Navy during the Roman Empire.

In c.586 BCE, the Greeks from Phocaea founded Alalia and established it as a maritime city.
In 540 BCE, the Greeks were defeated by a Carthaginian–Etruscan Alliance, and they lost Alalia to the Etruscans.
In 259 BCE, Corsica was occupied by the Romans during the First Punic War (264-241 BCE), although the interior was not pacified until 162 BCE.
In c. 100 BCE the Romans rebuilt Alalia and renamed it Aleria, in the Province of Corsica.
Because of its location as a perfect natural harbour on an inland Lagoon, the Etang de Diane, Aleria was rebuilt in 80 BCE as a major Roman naval base and city. Under Augustus it became the capital of Corsica.
The harbour was built on the southern end of the lagoon where it meets the river Tavignano, controlling where the mouth of the river meets the sea.
The Base was an outpost of the Classis Misenensis based at Misenum, near Naples in Italia.
Corsica and Sardinia each produced Three Auxiliary Cohorts, a total of six Cohorts for the Roman Army.
In 436 CE, Aleria and Corsica fell to the Vandal Empire.

Archeological Museum of Aleria
- Located in the Fort of Matra.
- The museum holds the Finds from the excavation of Aleria.

Aleria