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DIThe best preserved ancient Greek temples are in Italy! 🏛️
Paestum was originally a Greek colony in Southern Italy that made up Magna Graecia (Greater Greece). At this site, massive beautiful temples were built that are astoundingly well-preserved today!
The reason these ancient ruins aren’t really ruins is because the city was abandoned due to silting of rivers and the whole area became a swamp. If the malaria and mosquitoes weren’t enough to keep you away, the brigands and hostile locals would have done the job. 🦟
Seeing as no one really wanted to go there, these temples are some of the few that were saved from rock quarrying and repurposing.
Paestum eventually became a Roman colony and thrived, creating a fantastic mix of Greek and Roman art and architecture. Some very famous ancient tombs have also been discovered like the Tomb of the Diver. That fresco was one of the most important art history discoveries of the 20th century and is the only one of its kind.
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#ancienthistory #archaeology #historygram #ancientgreece #ancientrome | Roman colony | Roman history | Roman Empire | ancient temple | ancient city | ancient architecture | Ancient Greek history | Greek colony | Greek temple | Greek mythology
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