Paestum

April 11, 2014

Paestum is an ancient Greco-Roman city in the Campania region of southern Italy. Near sandy beaches in a region known for its delicious mozzarella di bufula, Paestum includes three well-preserved Doric Greek temples, ruins of ancient houses and a museum of artifacts.

In 600 B.C. the Greeks founded this town as the city "Poseidonia" snuggled in the Gulf of Salerno.  Today it is famous for the remainders from this time, 3 temples that are still in good condition, the Hera-temple I (Poseidon-temple), the Hera-temple II (Basilica) and the Ceres-temple.  The name changed to Paestum in 273 B.C. when the Romans invaded and conquered it.  The archaeologists haven't been able to dig up all the ancient Roman city.  Yet the 5 km long city walls show how large it once was and there is still a lot of history waiting to be found. 

 

Remnants of original wall surrounding Paestum

During the April 2014 General Conference, Elder Bednar gave a talk about heavy loads.  This temple was built approximately 700 B.C. and the reason it has maintained it's integrity though the years is because of it's heavy load on top.

Ampitheatre

My best finding tactic is searching for souvenirs.  This gentleman was already shutting down his display when we got there but opened it back up.  We bought a couple of little things and asked to have his picture taken with us.  He asked about our name tags and why we were in Italy.  His daughter spoke a little English and before we left, President had invited them to English class and given out a pass-a-long card.  One of the senior couples who serves in the area was with us and we introduced them so they would have a connection when they come to English class.

We got to Paestum right at dusk when they were just completing an artichoke (carcofi) festival.  They were giving away free roasted artichokes.  The top was cut off and the artichoke was filled with chopped parsley and fresh garlic and then roasted over hot coals.  Yum!  Yum!  Yum!