Archaeological Park of Paestum

Paestum is the most evocative architectural complex of Magna Graecia with its three magnificently preserved Doric temples (Temple of Neptune, the Basilica, Temple of Ceres), the imposing walls, the hypogeic chapel, containing precious bronze vases and the remains of other buildings and minor shrines.

The city, initially called Poseidonia, because it was dedicated to Poseidon or Neptune would have been founded around 600 BC. by Greek navigators. Between 400 and 273 BC it was occupied by the Italic population of the Lucanians, who marked its Greek name in Paistom and under whom it lived a period of prosperity and reached the maximum territorial expansion. In 273 the Romans established their own colony there, changing the name of the city with the current one of Paestum.

During the Roman period, economic and cultural activities flourished again: new public buildings were built, such as the amphitheater, the forum and the gymnasium, which contributed to giving the city that aspect that excavations have brought to light. Paestum was inhabited until the early Middle Ages and then abandoned due to Saracen raids and an epidemic of malaria due to the spread of the marshes.