Metaponto is an interesting town near Matera, with an ancient history and a lovely beach.
Metaponto Basilicata
The seaside town of Metaponto is located on the Ionian coast of the Basilicata region, situated on a plain between the rivers of Bradano and Basento.
This village offers kind and clean beaches and an azure sea making it ideal for family holidays.
The variety of restaurants, cafes and hotels make Metaponto popular with tourists during the summer months. As well as the beautiful coastline, it is possible to visit Greek columns and amphitheatres surrounded by lush vineyards.
Founded by the Greeks in the seventh century BC, Metapontum formed part of the ancient civilisation of Magna Graecia, which once stretched across the bottom of Italy’s boot.
The town has a rich archaeological history and has many attractions for tourists including the Archaeological Park where you can see impressive remains of the Palatine tables where knights gathered before heading off to the Crusades.
The countryside surrounding the town contains many archaeological sites, and there is another archaeological park further north that has four temples dedicated to the Greek gods Hera and Athena.
The Lido di Metaponto
The ‘Lido di Metaponto’ is full of traditional seaside entertainment and activities that have families in mind. The beautiful beach here is a delight due to its clean, shallow water and is backed by the remnants of a great forest.
Biogenetic National Reserve
This protected area is located close to the Archaeological Park of the town and includes a coastal area and a recently planted forest with classic Mediterranean flora. There are rolling sand dunes here, with typical plants such as straw and marine rush. Particularly important is the natural presence of the rare Loggerhead Sea Turtle, which lays its eggs near the beach from late spring to early summer.
Archaeological park
Metaponto Archaeological Park preserves monuments which tell the story of the ancient town from its foundation by the Greeks until the Roman era.
This includes the remains of an urban sanctuary dedicated to Apollo Licio (Lycian Apollo), the adjacent Agora (market/assembly square), the ceramic or Kerameikos district and a regular town plan consisting of long and narrow blocks, with a plateia (the main street).
The main Doric Greek temples are situated in the Sacred Area and include the Athena Temple (VI century BC); Apollo Temple (VI century BC); Hera Temple (VI century BC); Aphrodite Temple and the Palatine Tables.
The Agora hosts a semicircle theatre built on a previous circular one.
Metaponto is also the city of Pythagoras, the great mathematician and philosopher.
Archaeological Museum
The Metaponto Archaeological Museumshould not be missed, here you can see the impressive remains of the Palatine tables as well as a collection of finds from around 2000 excavations.
This makes it is possible to retrace the life of ancient Metapontum, which existed from Prehistoric to late ancient times.
Near Metaponto you can also see:
- Bernalda,
- Matera– UNESCO World Heritage Site;
- Pisticci;
- Miglionico;
- Policoro;
- Tursi.
