Paestum
Paestum contains three of the most well-preserved ancient Greek temples in the world; two Hera Temples shown above
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 Shown within Italy
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| Location | Paestum, Province of Salerno, Campania, Italy |
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| Region | Magna Graecia |
| Coordinates | 40°25′20″N 15°0′19″E / 40.42222°N 15.00528°ECoordinates: 40°25′20″N 15°0′19″E / 40.42222°N 15.00528°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Colonists from Sybaris and/or Troezen |
| Founded | Around 600 BC |
| Periods | Archaic Greece to Middle Ages |
| Site notes | |
| Management | Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici di Salerno, Avellino, Benevento e Caserta |
| Website |
www |
| Official name | Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archeological Sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iii, iv |
| Designated | 1998 (22nd session) |
| Reference no. | 842 |
| Region | Europe and North America |
 smARThistory – Ancient Greek Temples at Paestum, Italy
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Paestum was a major ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Magna Graecia (southern Italy). The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order, dating from about 600 to 450 BC, which are in a very good state of preservation. The city walls and amphitheatre are largely intact, and the bottom of the walls of many other structures remain, as well as paved roads. The site is open to the public, and there is a modern national museum within it, which also contains the finds from the associated Greek site of Foce del Sele.
After its foundation by Greek colonists under the name of Poseidonia (Ancient Greek: Ποσειδωνία) it was eventually conquered by the local Lucanians and later the Romans. The Lucanians renamed it to Paistos and the Romans gave the city its current name. As Pesto or Paestum, the town became a bishopric (now only titular), but it was abandoned in the Early Middle Ages, and left undisturbed and largely forgotten until the eighteenth century.
Today the remains of the city are found in the modern frazione of Paestum, which is part of the comune of Capaccio in the Province of Salerno, Campania, Italy. The modern settlement, directly to the south of the archaeological site, is a popular seaside resort, with long sandy beaches.
Much the most celebrated features of the site today are the three large temples in the Archaic version of the Greek Doric order, dating from about 550 to 450 BC. All are typical of the period, with massive colonnades having a very pronounced entasis (widening as they go down), and very wide capitals resembling upturned mushrooms. Above the columns, only the second Temple of Hera retains most of its entablature, the other two having only the architrave in place.
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