Today we return to the province of Salerno to talk about Paestum, one of the most extraordinary archaeological areas of our country; the three temples, magnificent in their exceptional state of conservation, the walls, the Porta Sirena, the finds collected in the Archaeological Museum (*) (one of them: the Tomb of the Diver), ensure that the emotional impact that is felt every time you return to visit this area is always very strong (at least it happens to us that way). https://www.museopaestum.beniculturali.it/ The practical indications are simple: on arrival, park in the free reserved spaces, avoiding the pedestrianized avenue by car, and then rush to the ticket office for the tour of the archaeological area (*), possibly with a good guide. The path of the archaeological area is quite easy in a wheelchair, with some points that require more attention. The temples in the order are the Basilica (which can be accessed via a walkway), the Temple of Neptune and, at a distance from the first two, the Temple of Ceres. We use traditional designations for convenience, even if archaeologists do not consider them correct. As for the rest of the buildings of ancient Poseidonia, we can be able to overlook the Amphitheater and, once out of the area of the temples, with a half circumnavigation of the walls, arrive at the Porta Sirena. BASILICA:
TEMPLE OF NEPTUN:
TEMPLE OF CERES:
AMPHITHEATER:
THE WALLS:
PORTA SIRENA:
The other fundamental stage of this itinerary is a visit to the Archaeological Museum (*), a modern structure set up with great care and intelligence. The museum is equipped with a lift and walkways that allow visitors in wheelchairs to use all the finds (amphorae, vases, statues, tombs, various objects). Let's take a look at this good thing:
THE TOMB OF THE DIVER:
For lunch we have selected two restaurants that meet our requirements: the first is a traditional restaurant, highly rated and of a high standard, the other is a farmhouse that offers excellent catering, based on their own products: Nonna Sceppa (*): Via Laura 45, Capaccio Paestum 0828 851064 www.nonnasceppa.com Terre di Paestum (*): Via Gaiarda 42, Capaccio Paestum 0828 722958 www.terredipaestum.it
(*) symbol indicating the presence of toilets equipped for the disabled If after lunch you want to get away from the archaeological area, you can follow the signs for the Tower of Paestum, about 1 km from the temples. It is the sixth of the seven coastal watchtowers which, from Salerno to Agropoli, made it possible to watch over the arrival of the Saracens from the sea and to transmit signals with fire and smoke to each other. The tower was completed in 1566 and was called "Cavallara" because it housed horses for urgent communications.
Finally, if you stay in the area until after sunset, when it gets dark, the best way to end the day is a nice walk on the avenue with a view of the illuminated temples: a show that is worth admiring!
We close with some images of the meeting of the Strabordo Association organized by us in September 2014, and in particular of the visit to the archaeological area and to the Fattoria del Casaro, today closed:
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