Discover Metaponto, one of the most ancient and important centers of Basilicata! This village was one of the first cities built by the ancient Greeks when, around the 7th century BC, they began to colonize southern Italy. Located on the Ionian coast between the rivers Bradano and Basento, Metapontum (which in Greek means "between two rivers") was for centuries a symbol of Hellenic culture and still today there are signs of the grandeur of its past.
Begin your tour with a visit to the National Archaeological Museum of Metaponto, where you'll discover the history of the territory from the Bronze and Iron Age to the Greek and Roman conquests. Your tour continues in the Archaeological Park of Apollonius Licio where you'll see the urban sanctuary, part of the agora, the great north-south road axis (plateia), and the craft district where ceramics were produced.
A few kilometers from the main complex, you'll discover the Palatine Tables, the remains of a Doric temple built by the Achaeans in 630 BC. The temple was part of a sacred extra-urban area connected to the cult of the goddess Hera. Here you'll admire the rests of 15 columns. The temple was also called 'School of Pythagoras', in memory of the great philosopher Pythagoras who is thought to have taught there.
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Entrance fees to the National Archaeological Museum of Metaponto
