Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Its temples were rediscovered in the late 18th century by road builders - who proceeded
to plough their way right through the ruins.
9am-1pm &
3-5pm Mon-Sun)
has information on the area and the Costiera Cilentana.
Sights
Ruins of Paestum
( 0828 72 26 54; adult/reduced, incl museum €10/5; 8.45am-2hrs before sunset)
Tickets to the ruins are
sold at the main entry point, near the tourist office, or from the museum, where you can
also hire an audio guide (€5).
The first temple you encounter from the main entrance is the 6th-century-BC
Tempio di
Cerere
(Temple of Ceres). Originally dedicated to Athena, it served as a Christian church in
medieval times.
As you head south, you can pick out the basic outline of the large rectangular forum,
the heart of the ancient city. Among the partially standing buildings are the vast domestic
housing area and, further south, the amphitheatre; both provide evocative glimpses of
daily life here in Roman times.
The
Tempio di Nettuno
(Temple of Neptune), dating from about 450 BC, is the largest and
best preserved of the three temples at Paestum; only parts of its inside walls and roof are
missing. Almost next door, the so-called
basilica
(in fact, a temple to the goddess Hera) is
Paestum's oldest surviving monument. Dating from the middle of the 6th century BC, it's
a magnificent sight, with nine columns across and 18 along the sides. Ask someone to
take your photo next to a column here, it's a good way to appreciate the scale.
Just east of the site, the
museum
( 0828 81 10 23; 8.30am-7.30pm, last entry 6.45pm, closed 1st &
3rd Mon of month)
houses a collection of fascinating, if weathered,
metopes
(bas-relief
friezes). This collection includes 33 of the original 36
metopes
from the
Tempio di Argiva
Hera
(Temple of Argive Hera), situated 9km north of Paestum, of which virtually nothing
else remains. The star exhibit is the 5th-century-BC fresco
Tomba del Truffatore
(Tomb of
the Diver), thought to represent the passage from life to death with its depiction of a diver
in midair (don't try this at home).
RUIN
Sleeping & Eating
