ROMAN STROLLS, Paestum Amalfi tour Italy tours

PAESTUM and AMALFI COAST

Roman Strolls Tours Rome tours, Italy tours and cruise excursions

If you have time to stray off the beaten path, another of our beautiful Italy tours leads to Paestum. Few places will reward you more than the ruins of this ancient Greek community. Unlike Pompeii and even Herculaneum, Paestum can often be deserted, and its stone temples, set against the mountains and deep blue sea provide a unique chance to see an ancient Greek city in Italy. On this one of our special Italy tours Roman Strolls will take you to the Temple of Hera which is among the oldest, best preserved and most beautiful Doric style temples in existence. In the 9th century AD, nearby Agropolis was taken over by Saracens. These Muslim Arab pirates introduced such delicacies as pasta and water buffalo cheese (mozzarella di bufala). By 877 AD, the inhabitants of Paestum had abandoned the city and retreated to the safety of the nearby hills. Paestum's Temple of Hera was among the most celebrated cult-worship sites in antiquity, but these majestic ruins were unknown all through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Scholars had been searching for Paestum's temples for centuries, but they were not discovered until 1740 and even then, not accurately described until 1779.

After visiting Paestum, you will stop for lunch near the beach on the Amalfi coast. The Italy tours of the region continue as you follow the precipitous seaside cliffs along the Amalfi coast. The small isolated towns like Vietri sul Mare, Maiori, Positano and Sorrento offer vistas of a gorgeous azure sea. You will stop in the town of Amalfi for a stroll through the town, see the magnificent Cathedral of St. Andrew, get a gelato (ice cream), browse the shops and stroll the alleys.

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