Scroll through the timeline and discover the history of Paestum
The territory of Paestum has already been inhabited since the Stone Age
The beginning of a millennia-long history
Multiculturalism in the Lucanian era
“The oldest surviving architecture in the world outside of Egypt”
The archaeological sites during the twentieth century
New enjoyments for new contemporaneities
Prehistory and protohistory: first traces of human settlement
The territory of Paestum has been inhabited since the Stone Age.The earliest evidence of human presence in the area that would later become Poseidonia dates back to the Middle Palaeolithic period, more than 35,000 years ago. These traces mainly consist of flint tools, such as arrowheads and scrapers, found near the Temple of Hera (the so-called Basilica).
However, the best-documented phase of Paestum’s prehistory is the Copper Age (c. 3800–2300 BC), associated with the Gaudo culture, named after a locality, just over a kilometre north of the city. Here, an extensive necropoleis was uncovered, where tombs followed a distinctive pattern: burials were arranged in one or two elliptical chambers cut into the bedrock, sealed with large travertine slabs, and accessed via a small shaft.
Alongside the skeletal remains and animal bones—likely offerings for the dead—archaeologists discovered a wealth of pottery, including jars, jugs, cups, and examples of the askos, a large, offset-necked vessel.
Archaeological evidence from the Bronze Age (c. 2300–900 BC) and the Iron Age (c. 900–725 BC) is more limited. The Bronze Age is represented by finds such as bronze axes and bow-shaped fibulae, while the Iron Age is attested by cinerary urns containing cremated remains, discovered at the settlement of Capodifiume, to the north-east of Paestum.
Poseidonia: the foundation of the Greek city
The main source of information regarding the origins of Poseidonia is a passage by the Greek historian Strabo (1st century BC – 1st century AD). He recounts that the city was founded by Greek settlers from Sybaris (itself an Achaean colony established in the 8th century BC), who, after first establishing a settlement along the coast, later moved inland to found the new city.
The name they chose, Poseidonia, appears to reflect a particular devotion to Poseidon, god of the sea. This is further supported by numismatic evidence, as the earliest coinage from the second half of the 6th century BC depicts the standing figure of Poseidon holding a trident on silver coins.
Archaeological evidence, consisting mainly of fragments of early ceramic material from the 6th century BC, allows us to date the foundation of Poseidonia to around 600 BC.
From that time onwards, the city began to equip itself with religious and political buildings, as well as new public spaces typical of a Greek polis.
Temples were erected in honour of the gods, including the Temple of Athena (built around 580 BC and later reconstructed around 500 BC), the Temple of Hera (560–520 BC), and the so-called Temple of Neptune (c. 460 BC). The main square, or agora, was also established, becoming the heart of the city and home to key monuments such as the Heroon—a commemorative shrine to the city’s legendary founder, built around 510 BC—and the Ekklesiasterion, the assembly place for free citizens, constructed around 480 BC.
The Lucanian domination of Poseidonia
In the same passage where he describes the foundation of Poseidonia, Strabo also recalls that the city was later conquered—first by the Lucanians, and later by the Romans. The Lucanians were probably a multi-ethnic group that emerged around the 5th century BC, formed from the presence of mercenaries in the Sele plain. By the end of the 5th century BC, they had taken control of Poseidonia, replacing the Greek ruling class.
Archaeological evidence from this period is particularly rich, with some of the finest examples being the funerary paintings of the 4th and early 3rd centuries BC. These works depict members of the local elite alongside traditional decorative motifs. Ceramic production also flourished, with some pieces reaching exceptional quality, especially those signed by renowned artists such as Assteas and Python.
Despite the political changes, Poseidonia largely retained its Greek identity. Many of the city’s major monuments and public spaces—such as the urban sanctuaries, the agora, the Heroon, and the Ekklesiasterion—remained almost untouched, preserving the character of a Greek polis.
However, the Lucanians introduced a new language, Oscan, into the public life of the city. This is demonstrated by a stele bearing an Oscan inscription found within the Ekklesiasterion. The inscription, a dedication to Zeus Agoraios, shows how a building and religious cult from Poseidonia’s Greek past continued to hold significance even during the Lucanian period.
From Poseidonia to Paestum
A significant date in the city’s history is 273 BC, when the Romans established a Latin-rights colony named Paestum in the territory formerly known as Poseidonia. Families of veterans were settled there, each receiving plots of land.
This legal status granted the city a degree of autonomy under a treaty of alliance with Rome, which also permitted the inhabitants to trade with Roman citizens and to intermarry with Roman women.
Over time, as key historical events unfolded and relations with Rome evolved, Paestum’s legal status also changed. In 90 BC, Paestum became a municipium, granting its citizens full Roman citizenship rights. Later, in 71 AD, under Emperor Vespasian, Paestum once again became a Roman colony when public land was distributed to veterans of the imperial fleet based at Misenum.
While during the Lucanian period the city had largely retained the monumental layout created by the original Greek settlers, the new Roman Paestum underwent profound transformations. Epigraphic evidence shows the widespread adoption of the Latin language, and the construction of new sacred and civic monuments—including the Temple of Peace, the Comitium, the Curia, and the Basilica—along with the development of new public spaces through the construction of the Forum, fundamentally altered the city’s appearance.
The deliberate burial of key monuments from Poseidonia’s Greek past, such as the Heroon and the Ekklesiasterion, further underlined the Roman desire to rewrite the city’s history.
Late antiquity and medieval age
Late Antiquity and the medieval period remain the least well-documented phases in the history of Paestum, largely due to the limited archaeological evidence available.
The gradual collapse of the Roman Empire from the 4th century AD onwards triggered a deep economic crisis that also affected Paestum. The size of the inhabited area contracted significantly as much of the population moved inland towards higher ground. Meanwhile, swamps began to spread across the low-lying plains where the city once stood, leading to the spread of malaria.
The great temples of Paestum continued to dominate the landscape, their majestic forms still visible, but they lost their sacred role and were repurposed as shelters for livestock.
One particularly notable archaeological find from this period is a tabula patronatus (4th century AD)—a bronze tablet discovered near the Temple of Peace. This record shows how the citizens of Paestum conferred the honorary title of patronus (protector) on a man named Elpidius, offering a rare glimpse into civic life during these otherwise poorly documented centuries.
The city’s prominence during the Grand Tour
The words of Winckelmann capture well the sense of awe felt by an educated traveller of the 18th century when encountering the remarkably preserved temple architecture of Paestum.
During the 18th and early 19th centuries, within a broader cultural climate marked by growing interest in Greco-Roman antiquities, the Campanian city became one of the essential destinations of the Grand Tour.
The Grand Tour refers to the extended journey across Europe—especially Italy, Greece, and France—undertaken by young men from wealthy families as a key part of their education.
The Grand Tour undoubtedly contributed to the “rediscovery” of Paestum, although today scholars tend to reconsider the term, as the temples had remained visible throughout earlier centuries. Nonetheless, the role of these travels in popularising knowledge of Paestum remains significant. It was during this period that Giovanni Battista Piranesi produced his famous engravings of Paestum’s Doric temples, and literary figures of the stature of Winckelmann and Goethe visited and wrote about the city.
From the first excavations to extraordinary discoveries
The first systematic excavations in Paestum began in the early 1900s under the direction of the then superintendent Vittorio Spinazzola and focused mainly in the area of the Southern Sanctuary, where the main streets of the city were also brought to light.
A season of great discoveries was inaugurated a few decades later, when, in 1934, Paola Zancani Montuoro and Umberto Zanotti Bianco announced the discovery of the Hera Sanctuary on the river Sele. Their research, opposed by the fascist regime of the time, continued in the following years. The extraordinary findings, including the two cycles of Heraion’s metopes, highlighted to the then superintendent Amedeo Maiuri the need to create a museum in Paestum that could house the exceptional finds. However, it was necessary to wait until the end of the war before the museum could be inaugurated in 1952.
However, the great discoveries in the Pesta territory were not concluded: in 1943, as part of the Allied landing in Salerno, the important necropoleis of Gaudo was brought to light, while research in the suburban territory of the Pesta brought out numerous necropoleis, whose tombs have returned important archaeological data; among these is the famous Tomba del Tuffatore, found in 1968 by the then superintendent Mario Napoli.
In 1998, Paestum, Velia, the Certosa di Padula and the Archaeological Park of Cilento and Vallo di Diano were registered by UNESCO in the World Heritage List.
The Archaeological Area in contemporary times
Starting from the most pressing themes of contemporary times, the Archaeological Parks intend to give voice to a plurality of perspectives in all sectors, from historical research to communication, from use to education. As part of the research, archaeological investigations continue, among which we remember the one that has as its object the Doric temple of the fifth century BC discovered in the northwestern sector of the city.
Through research, exhibitions and popular initiatives, we therefore try to bring out subordinate and alternative stories with respect to the male-elit perspective that has traditionally marked the historical reconstruction of Greek colonization. The commitment of the Parks is also aimed at deepening the study of historical phases of the city, such as the Roman age, so far less investigated by research. In the enjoyment, on the other hand, the aim is to involve an increasingly diverse audience, breaking down physical, cultural and economic barriers and inaugurating new visit routes.
I Parchi archeologici di Paestum e Velia sono un istituto del Ministero della Cultura dotato di autonomia speciale, iscritto dal 1998 nella lista del patrimonio mondiale UNESCO.
The Archaeological Parks of Paestum and Velia; an institute of the Ministry of Culture, with special autonomy and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.
