Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Ionian Coast
With its flat coastline and wide sandy beaches, the Ionian coast has some fascinating stops
from Sibari to Santa Severina, with some of the best beaches on the coast around
Soverato
.
However, the coast has borne the brunt of some ugly development and is mainly a long,
uninterrupted string of resorts, thronged in the summer months and shut down from Octo-
ber to May.
It's worth taking a trip inland to visit
Santa Severina
, a spectacular mountaintop town,
26km northwest of Crotone. The town is dominated by a Norman castle and is home to a
beautiful Byzantine church.
MAGNA GRAECIA MUSEUMS OF THE IONIAN COAST
In stark contrast to the dramatic Tyrrhenian coast, the Ionian coast is a listless, flat affair dotted with
large tourist resorts. However, the Greek ruins at
Metaponto
and
Policoro
, with their accompanying
museums, bring alive the enormous influence of Magna Graecia in southern Italy.
Metaponto's Greek ruins are a rare site where archaeologists have managed to map the entire an-
cient urban plan. Settled by Greeks in the 8th and 7th centuries BC, Metapontum's most famous resid-
ent was Pythagoras, who founded a school here after being banished from Crotone (in Calabria) in the
6th century BC. After Pythagoras died, his house and school were incorporated into the Temple of
Hera. The remains of the temple - 15 columns and sections of pavement - are Metaponto's most im-
pressive sight. They're known as the
Tavole Palatine
(Palatine Tables; Parco Archeologico) , since
knights, or paladins, are said to have gathered here before heading to the Crusades. It's 3km north of
town, just off the highway; to find it follow the slip road for Taranto onto the SS106.
In town, the
Museo Archeologico Nazionale
( 0835 74 53 27; Via Aristea 21; admission €2.50;
9am-8pm Tue-Sun, 2-8pm Mon) houses artefacts from Metapontum and other sites while in the
Parco Archeologico
, 2km northeast of the train station, are the remains of a
Greek theatre
and the Doric
Tempio di Apollo Licio
.
In Policoro, 21km southwest of Matera, the
Museo della Siritide
( 0835 97 21 54; Via Co-
lombo 8; admission €2.50; 9am-8pm Wed-Mon, 2-8pm Tue) has a fabulous display of artefacts
from 7000 BC through to Lucanian ornaments, Greek mirrors and Roman spears and javelins.
SITA (
Click here
) buses run from Matera to Metaponto (€2.90, one hour, up to five daily) and on to
Policoro. Metaponto is on the Taranto-Reggio line; trains connect with Potenza, Salerno and occa-
sionally Naples.
