TEMPLE OF JOY

Meet your private guide and driver at your accommodation and relax on the ride to Paestum, an extraordinary archaeological park recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1998.

Historians believe this ancient settlement was founded as far back as 600 BC by Greek colonists who landed here after fleeing the city of Sybaris in Calabria. Poseidonia – as the town was originally named in honour of the much revered god of the sea – soon flourished, becoming the greatest town of the Gulf of Salerno, and registered a long epoch of wealth and prosperity that lasted until the end of the 5th century BC. Over the following centuries Paestum was occupied by a tribe of Lucanian warriors, conquered by the Romans, sacked by the Saracens and eventually abandoned in the Middle Ages, only to be rediscovered in 1740 when the site began to be pin-pointed as a must-see on the map of European Grand Tour travellers.

Your guide will lead you back in time, along a fascinating trail through the excavations, and enrich your experience with compelling stories of Paestum’s early dwellers. Ruins of the city walls, towers, gates, a gymnasium and an amphitheatre still stand alongside the site’s most striking attractions: three majestic, amazingly-well preserved Doric temples dating to the 6th and 5th centuries BC, supposedly dedicated to Hera, Athena and Neptune. A visit to the archaeological museum will allow you to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle and recompose a vivid scene of daily life in ancient Greek and Roman times. You will discover how ancient communities were organised, which cults and rituals took place within the temples and which artisanal activities were carried out inside the workshops. The rooms display a collection of artefacts recovered mostly from Paestum’s necropolis. Indeed yesterday’s tombs have proved to be a priceless source of knowledge for us today. Though much research and excavation work still remain to be done and many mysteries are yet to be unravelled, sculptures, vases, metalwork and painted grave stones allow visitors an intriguing glimpse into the habits and beliefs of our ancestors. Not to be missed is the 480-470 BC painting of the so-called Tomb of the Diver, representing a naked young man diving into the sea, interpreted as a visual metaphor for the transition from this life to the next.

Guests might be pleased to know that Paestum is located in the Piana del Sele, the wonderland of buffalo mozzarella. After some free time for lunch you will discover how delicious fresh cheese is created on a visit to a certified organic farm. According to the local creed, happy, stress-free buffaloes produce better milk. With this in mind, in this temple of joy, six hundred buffaloes are idolized and pampered. They dine on organic hay, enjoy massages and are even entertained with jazz music! Take a tour of the water-buffalo stables, cheese-processing facility and leather handicraft shop, topped off with a tasting of buffalo milk-based products including mozzarella, yogurt and gelato.

After the visit rejoin your driver and return to your accommodation.