Parco Archeologico di Medma

On the Pian delle Vigne terrace northwest of Rosarno, the Archaeological Park of Medma preserves parts of the Greek colony founded by settlers from Locri. Excavated areas include a large public building, houses with wells and kilns, and the sanctuary of Calderazzo, set among olive groves.

Why it matters

Medma’s remains preserve evidence of the city’s public, domestic and religious life. Excavations have revealed an archaic settlement on the terrace and a sanctuary at Calderazzo. The kilns are an important trace of local terracotta production, whose objects are also represented in museum collections.

What to notice

The archaeological area includes a large public building and classical-period houses with wells and kilns. The sacred building of Calderazzo was excavated between 2014 and 2018. The site remains within an olive-growing landscape, where the cultivated ground gives the ancient remains a rural setting.

Context and history

Interest in the ancient city dates to the late nineteenth century. Paolo Orsi’s excavations at Calderazzo in 1912 and 1913 uncovered a votive deposit with thousands of terracotta objects. Work by the Soprintendenza resumed from the 1960s, and later excavations showed that the deposit continued beyond the area explored by Orsi. A second cult area has been identified at Sant’Anna elsewhere in Rosarno. The associated museum opened in 2014 and presents finds from the city and its surrounding archaeological sites.