Paestum Attractions
The site of Paestum lies in southern Campania, in a plain nearby the Gulf of Salerno, a bay on the Tyrrhenian Sea. With its ruined temples and its cemeteries, this site possesses the finest remains of Greek architecture on the mainland of Italy.
History
Paestum was founded by Greeks from Sybaris under the name of Poseidonia about 600 B.C. In the fourth century B.C. it passed into the hands of the Lucanians, and in 273 B.C. became a Roman colony.
In the time of Augustus it already had a bad name for the malaria-ridden marshland which surrounded it, and after the devastation of the region by the Saracens in the ninth century its inhabitants abandoned the town, taking with them a relic of St Matthew which had according to tradition been preserved in Paestum since the fourth century, and founded a new settlement on the neighboring hills at Capaccio, of which Paestum with its few modern houses is now a part.
The deserted town was despoiled of its columns and sculpture by the Norman leader Robert Guiscard, and thereafter was forgotten until the 18th century, when there was a revival of interest in classical Greek art.
History
Paestum was founded by Greeks from Sybaris under the name of Poseidonia about 600 B.C. In the fourth century B.C. it passed into the hands of the Lucanians, and in 273 B.C. became a Roman colony.
In the time of Augustus it already had a bad name for the malaria-ridden marshland which surrounded it, and after the devastation of the region by the Saracens in the ninth century its inhabitants abandoned the town, taking with them a relic of St Matthew which had according to tradition been preserved in Paestum since the fourth century, and founded a new settlement on the neighboring hills at Capaccio, of which Paestum with its few modern houses is now a part.
The deserted town was despoiled of its columns and sculpture by the Norman leader Robert Guiscard, and thereafter was forgotten until the 18th century, when there was a revival of interest in classical Greek art.
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Museum
In the center of Paestum, on the east side of the state road, is the Museum, with prehistoric material, painted pottery and fine metopes from the Temple of Hera on the Sele, north of Paestum, and the archaic Treasury, including Greek statues and pictures. Also to be seen are grave-paintings found in the nearby necropoli, as well as Greek statues and paintings.
Hours
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 |
| Close | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 | 19:00 |
Always closed on:
New Year's Day (January 1)
May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Ruins
The ruins at Paestum are an excellent example of ancient Greek architecture. Here you will find yellow, limestone temples rising out of the ruins of several dwellings.
Hours
April 1 to September 30
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 |
| Close | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 | 18:00 |
October 1 to March 31
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 |
| Close | 15:30 | 15:30 | 15:30 | 15:30 | 15:30 | 15:30 | 15:30 |
Always closed on:
New Year's Day (January 1)
May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Disabled
Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
Basilica
To the south of the Temple of Hera can be seen the misnamed Basilica, the oldest temple on the site, dated by the marked swelling of the columns and the form of the capitals to the second half of the sixth century B.C. As with the Temple of Hera, there are remains of an earlier oval temple at the east end and, 27m/29yd farther east, a sacrificial altar 21m/23yd wide.
Temple of Ceres
The so-called Temple of Ceres has traces of stucco and painting on the gable, which shows Ionic influences.
Amphitheater
Immediately south of the museum in Paestum, the state road cuts across the Amphitheater of the Roman period, the rounded end of which can still be distinguished. Some 300m/330yd farther south, on the right, is the entrance to the site, near the south side of the ancient city.
Forum
200m/220yd north of the Temple of Hera is the Forum (150m/165yd long, 57m/63yd across), which was surrounded by a colonnade of late Doric columns. North of the Forum are the massive substructures of the Tempio Italico (273 B.C.), with one re-erected column.
Temple of Hera
Opposite the entrance to the Zona Archeologica is the magnificent Temple of Hera (misnamed Temple of Neptune), a consummate example of the mature, strictly disciplined architecture of the fifth century B.C., reflecting the Greek ideal of harmony and proportion. The stone is a porous limestone to which the passage of time has given a beautiful yellow tone. At the east end of the temple the tip of an earlier oval structure emerges from the ground. 10m/11yd east are the remains of the sacrificial altar associated with the temple.
Town Walls
The site of the ancient city of Paestum is enclosed by a magnificent circuit of town walls 4.75km/3mi long, with four gates and a number of towers (a walk round the walls is recommended for the fine views of the site and the sea).
Via Sacra
Just beyond the west end of the basilica is a section of the ancient Via Sacra which ran across Paestum from north to south.
