National Archaeological Museum of Paestum, Archaeological museum in Paestum, Italy
The National Archaeological Museum of Paestum is an archaeological museum in Capaccio Paestum, southern Italy, housing objects recovered from the ancient Greek colony and the nearby burial grounds along the Sele River. The collection covers pottery, funerary objects, stone reliefs, and painted tomb slabs that together document life and burial customs in this area across several centuries.
The museum opened after World War II, as archaeological work on the site of the ancient Greek colony founded in the 6th century BC was increasing. As more objects were uncovered in the surrounding area in the following decades, the building was gradually expanded to accommodate them.
The museum displays funeral paintings from the 4th century BC showing banquet scenes and diving figures, a type of image rarely found outside Greece. These paintings come from tombs discovered in the surrounding area and give a direct sense of how the ancient inhabitants marked death and celebration.
The museum sits right next to the ancient ruins, so combining both sites in a single visit is easy to do. The entrance is at ground level and the building is accessible for people with mobility restrictions.
One of the exhibition rooms is arranged so that visitors look up at ancient stone reliefs from below, the same angle from which they were meant to be seen when placed in their original structures. This setup reveals how the proportions and details of the carvings were deliberately shaped for a viewer standing at ground level.
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