I’ll be honest – there’s not a lot to do in Paestum, at least not where we are. There are two pizza places, maybe one open bar, and one tiny supermarket. There are a lot of shops that look like they used to be open but aren’t anymore. 

Obviously having the beach around is enough for a nice vacation, but i was worried we might get bored and not have a lot to do. 

I was looking for things to do and found something pretty cool only about ten minutes away: The Paestum Ruins.

I enjoy learning about other cultures and other countries, but I’m not a big “history buff” by any means.  Still, the ruins loomed really cool so we wanted to go see them.

When we got there, they were way bigger than I expected. There were also a bunch of restaurants and souvenir shops, however the restaurants were expensive because it’s all tourists in the area.

The Paestum Ruins are, interestingly, Greek ruins

They are probably the best preserved greek ruins on italy’s mainland, though there aren’t many left in Italy. There are some on the island of Sicily.

There are 3 main structures here.

There’s the Temple of Hera, which is the the oldest of the buildings. It may have been the temple of Apollo based on inscriptions and archeological finds, but this is not confirmed.

There is also the Temple of Athena – this is the only temple that they’re absolutely certain of the identity of who it’s dedicated to. It is situated at the highest point of the city 

There is also the Temple of Neptune (though it’s still unclear if this was actually a temple dedicated to Neptune),  which is the largest temple at Paestum and the best preserved 

The blocks are held together with simple dowels without mortar which has allowed it to withstand earthquakes and other forces of nature.

We were also able to see part of an amphitheater but apparently half of it was covered when a new road was built in the mid 1900s.

The entire Paestum archeological site is a UNESCO world heritage site, and it was a pretty phenomenal site. I highly recommend visiting or if you’re in the area, even if you aren’t a history buff!

 

I apology for the brevity and the lack of pictures – we are basically in the middle of nowhere and don’t exactly have a lot of cell service or wifi! Please visit our Instagram to see pictures!