Velia / Elea

In addition to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum there is the interesting Roman site of Velia (south of Salerno and Paestum), once a popular resort of the Roman aristocracy, which has the remains of a number of villas and town gates. 5km/17ft beneath the Roman city were found remains of the Greek town of Elea, including some fine pieces of statuary and the notable Porta Rosa (fourth century B.C.), a masterpiece of Greek architecture. The Greek town was founded in 536 B.C. by Phocaeans who had been driven out of their original settlement at Alalia on Corsica. Between c. 540 and 460 B.C. this was the home of the famous Eleatic school of philosophy led by Xenophanes, Parmenides and Zeno; the town also had a noted school of medicine. At that time Elea probably had a population of 40,000, and its walls had a total length of 6km/3.5mi, later extended to 7km/4.5mi. The excavation of the ancient city (under which earlier remains dating from the eighth century were found) is still in progress (museum exhibits in various buildings). On a hill to the north of the site excavations have brought to light the foundations of a temple of the fifth century B.C., which was destroyed during the construction of the medieval castle, together with remains of a square tower of the fourth century B.C., three smaller temples, a sacrificial altar, several dwelling houses (second century B.C.) and the road from the acropolis to the harbor.