I am planning a trip from Rome down to probably Paestum. Does anyone know of a detailed book on the archeology of Roman sites in this area of Italy? There are books to specific sites, but I was hoping for something a little broader to start the planning.
Posted by
Sidney, BC, Canada
993 posts
Romans on the Bay of Naples by Lawrence ($25 on Amazon) appears to cover most of the area though not sure if it includes Paestum, which is mainly Greek not Roman. One of my favourite sites in Italy. Unfortunately the museum is closed for renovation although I understand some items are displayed nearby.
Rough Guides do a good job with information on visiting archaeological sites with maps,directions etc. I have not used the one for Italy.
Found a useful website: sitiarcheologiciditalia.it which has a section of info on sites in Campania.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7936 posts
I'm not slamming any particular brand of book, but note that our one-year old guidebook's walking-suggestions did not account for new pedestrian paths in Pompeii Scavi, to (I believe) accommodate long lines at the brothel. It's not just open-hours and prices that quickly go out of date.
Posted by
3459 posts
The free guide that advertises the Campania Artecard ("L'arte in Campania") provides an excellent overview of the archeological sites in Campania, including those which are not covered by the various iterations of the card, and Paestum. Unfortunately, I could never figure out how to obtain it without actually being in country - I found stacks of copies in the lobby of our lodgings in Pompei and Salerno.
Since you are fairly new to the Forum, I will re-recommend the Roman Architecture course available online for free from Yale. It was recorded in 2009, so anything discovered since then obviously isn't covered. The first lecture isn't on the Yale website, but you can find it on YouTube.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
Thank you, the Yale open course is great.