Cinta muraria di Paestum

The city walls of Paestum trace an ancient defensive circuit nearly five kilometres long. Built in large travertine blocks and punctuated by gates, towers and small posterns, they define the scale of the city beyond its famous temples.

Why it matters

The walls make the urban footprint of ancient Poseidonia-Paestum unusually clear. Their successive alterations record the changing defensive needs of a city with Greek, Lucanian and Roman phases.

What to notice

The principal gates are known as Porta Marina, Porta Sirena, Porta Giustizia and Porta Aurea, though their surviving fabric varies considerably. Towers of different forms interrupt the long curtains, while small posterns provided additional openings.

The double-faced stone construction encloses a thick core of earth and rubble. Differences between stretches of masonry and the treatment of gates reveal a fortification developed through several campaigns rather than a single uniform undertaking.

Context and history

The oldest surviving stone phase is associated with the fourth century BC and Lucanian control. Traces near Porta Giustizia suggest earlier earth-and-timber defences in the Greek period. Later rebuilding continued to modify the circuit. Breaches made for the Bourbon road became significant modern interruptions in the ancient enclosure.