National Archaeological Museum of Paestum

Discover the latest news and new sections inaugurated at the National Archaeological Museum of Paestum.

The National Archaeological Museum of Paestum was founded in 1952 inside the ancient city. Initially it consisted of a single room, with an external architectural appearance of Piacentine school, built on the dimensions of the structure that reproduced the first Thesauros of the sanctuary of Hera. This original nucleus was later expanded and new rooms were prepared, built around an internal garden and with glass windows open to the outside.

The new museum layout documents the evolution and transformations of the city, from the foundation of the Greek colony between the end of the 7th and the beginning of the 6th century BC to the establishment of the Latin colony, illustrating the transformations in social and public organization, religious rites, aspects of daily life, art and craftsmanship. An introductory section reconstructs the history of the discovery of the archaeological site, another section is dedicated to prehistory.

The Roman Section

The new section “Paestum: from the Roman city to today”, inaugurated in 2024 and dedicated to Mario Torelli, expands the itinerary of the National Archaeological Museum of Paestum, offering an overview of the history of the city from its foundation as a Latin colony in 273 BC to the modern age. Through an innovative layout, which ideally retraces the layers of an archaeological excavation, the visitor can immerse themselves in the transformations of Paestum during the Roman, late ancient and medieval eras, until its rediscovery in the 18th century.

The exhibition is divided into several subsections: “The Roman sanctuaries”, “Roman public life”, “The Roman settlement”, “The Roman necropolises”, “From Late Antiquity to the modern age” and “The rediscovery of Paestum”. Significant finds, such as the bronze statue of the Silenus Marsyas and other unpublished objects from recent excavations or from the museum’s deposits, illustrate aspects of daily life, religion, urban planning and coinage of Paestum in Roman times.

Particular attention is paid to the rediscovery of Paestum in the eighteenth century, thanks to the exhibition of the volume by G.B. and F. Piranesi with views of the temples, belonging to the museum’s collection, and ten works including engravings, watercolours and gouaches from the Giambattista Vico Foundation, which testify to the fascination that Paestum had on travellers on the Grand Tour. Finally, original photographs and documents illustrate the fundamental stages of the excavations, studies and research conducted since the twentieth century.

The section “Paestum: from the Roman city to today” stands out for its multidisciplinary approach, the result of collaboration between ministerial staff, freelancers and scholars from various Italian and foreign institutions. Particular attention has been paid to accessibility and the removal of architectural, cognitive and cultural barriers, making the exhibition accessible to a wide and diversified public. The exhibition uses a clear and homogeneous museum communication system, with explanatory panels in Italian and English, information totems, video stations, touchscreens and QR codes that allow for in-depth study of the scientific and educational content.

The exhibition of coins deserves special mention: the inclined displays, photographic enlargements and video reproductions offer a detailed view of these finds, allowing us to understand the evolution of coinage in Paestum from the Roman age to the modern age.

Sculptures from the Sanctuary of Hera at Sele

An important section of the museum is made up of the set of architectural and sculptural decorations from the excavations of the Heraion of Sele. The archaic sandstone metopes were part of the first Thesauros: of these, eighteen are dedicated to the exploits of Heracles. To these are added a series of ex votos (fragments of terracotta, vases, metal and bone objects), which the faithful offered to the sanctuary. Noteworthy are the decorations with lion eaves and the ten surviving metopes of the main temple of the Heraion, which compose a continuous narrative depicting a group of dancers.

The Tomb of the Diver

Among the pieces of inestimable historical and artistic value preserved in the museum, there are the painted slabs of the so-called Tomb of the Diver, the only example of Greek-era painting in Magna Graecia. It is a tomb with slabs, closed by a flat roof, with frescoes on the internal walls. On the covering slab is painted a man diving into the water: the dive symbolizes the passage from life to death.

The Painted Tombs of the 4th century BC

The use of painted tombs became widespread in Paestum in the 4th century BC, during the Lucanian domination. The museum’s very rich collection of funerary paintings dates back to this period. These are frescoed slabs: the oldest are decorated only in the central part, with bands, crowns, bandages or branches; later, the use of real figurative scenes for male tombs (mainly warriors on horseback with helmet and armor) and decorative elements for female ones became popular.

Source: Archaeological Park of Paestum & Velia.