La Locanda del Mare

History of Paestum

by sim1

Paestum's history dates back to the very beginning of italic civilization. The city was founded in the sixth century by the Greeks on the foundations of a pre-existing settlement.

Posidònia was the name given to the original town of Paestum which remained a flourishing trading centre even after the Lucanian invasion of the fifth century and the Roman domination in 273 A.C.

It was completely abandoned towards the ninth century, probably due to a malaria epidemic and devastating Arab raids which destroyed all forms of civilization.

The area remained in oblivion until the eighteenth century when an envoy of the Bourbon King Carlo III discovered remains of temples rising out of the vegetation.

Since then, continuous archaeological activity has brought to light one of the most important intact archaeological complexes in Magna Grecia.

Temple of Poseidon III

by sandysmith

This temple belongs to a transitional phase between the archaic and the classic Doric order. For example the number of columns to the sides should have been 13, not 14, to match the classic Doric ideal, and each column should have had 20 flutes instead of the actual 24.

Roman coins

by sandysmith

The ground floor of the museum has a host of artifacts from the tombs and the city of Poseidon - the originals can be found on the ground floor. The top floor has exhibits from the roman period and these roman coins caught ny eye.

Paestum-it Rocks!..or it has rocks, lots of them!

by paulapes

"A relaxed tour of Paestum"

Paestum was ancient Poseidonia founded by Greek colonists around 600 BC---most of it was undiscovered until the 1950s. There are three temples standing: Hera, Ceres, and Neptune.

There is also a large museum to tour.