Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park with the Archeological Sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula
The Cilento is an outstanding cultural landscape. The dramatic groups of sanctuaries and settlements along its three east–west mountain ridges vividly portray the area's historical evolution: it was a major route not only for trade, but also for cultural and political interaction during the prehistoric and medieval periods. The Cilento was also the boundary between the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia and the indigenous Etruscan and Lucanian peoples. The remains of two major cities from classical times, Paestum and Velia, are found there.
The Cilento is an outstanding cultural landscape. The dramatic groups of sanctuaries and settlements along its three east–west mountain ridges vividly portray the area's historical evolution: it was a major route not only for trade, but also for cultural and political interaction during the prehistoric and medieval periods. The Cilento was also the boundary between the Greek colonies of Magna Graecia and the indigenous Etruscan and Lucanian peoples. The remains of two major cities from classical times, Paestum and Velia, are found there.
Justification for Inscription
Criterion (iii): During the prehistoric period, and again in the Middle Ages, the Cilento region served as a key route for cultural, political, and commercial communications in an exceptional manner, utilizing the crests of the mountain chains running east-west and thereby creating a cultural landscape of outstanding significance and quality.
Criterion (iv): In two key episodes in the development of human societies in the Mediterranean region, the Cilento area provided the only viable means of communication between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian seas, in the central Mediterranean region, and this is vividly illustrated by the relict cultural landscape of today.
Long Description
During the prehistoric period, and again in the Middle Ages, the Cilento region served as a key route for cultural, political and commercial communications in an exceptional manner, using the crests of the mountain chains running east-west and thereby creating a cultural landscape of outstanding significance and quality between the Adriatic and the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Cilento National Park is essentially a mountainous region cut by several river valleys sloping down to the Tyrrhenian Sea. The earliest human occupation identified in this region dates back over 250,000 years, when Homo erectus was living in caves along the coast. Homo sapiens sapiens replaced his Neanderthal cousin during the Upper Palaeolithic period and established seasonal camps during this and the subsequent Mesolithic period. Neolithic settlements have been discovered in a number of places across the area of the park. During the Bronze and Iron Ages small groups of warriors and traders moved into to the region. By the end of the 2nd millennium, trade with Mycenae had become substantial, and many of the sophisticated cultural and technological elements of late Bronze Age Greece were introduced. With the collapse of Mycenae this trade with the Eastern Mediterranean declined greatly, to be replaced by active trade within the peninsula itself, as Cilento was also an important boundary zone with the Etruscan cultures of northern Italy. Greek colonization began in the late 7th century with coastal trading settlements being established at Agropoli and Poseidonia (Roman Paestum) in the northern part of Cilento. Elea (Velia) was founded in 540 BC and was to become one of the most influential centres of learning in the ancient world. At the end of the 5th century BC, the Lucanians of the interior defeated the league of Greek coastal cities, apart from Elea. The region was incorporated into the territories of Rome in the later 3rd century BC. It was not until the western Roman Empire crumbled and its roads and bridges fell into disrepair that the earlier network of communication and settlement came into its own again. During the Middle Ages feudal castles and religious foundations were established; within the pre-Roman framework, the Greek and Lucanian towns revived.
The most noteworthy archaeological site is that of Paestum, the Greek city of Poseidonia. Within the city walls, a number of exceptional public buildings have been revealed between the main north-south axis (cardo maximus ) and the Sacred Way. The most outstanding of these are the three great temples of Hera, Ceres and Poseidon. The oldest is the Temple of Hera: like the other temples here it is Doric in style. The Temple of Ceres (probably dedicated to Athena) is dated to around 500 BC. Its proportions and use of space in this, the smallest of the Paestum temples, are superior to that of the Temple of Hera. The architect of the Temple of Poseidon (in reality also dedicated to Hera), from the mid-5th century BC, was clearly inspired by the Parthenon in Athens. The remains of the Roman forum built over the Greek agora have been excavated and are on view. This large open space is surrounded by public buildings, identified as the bouleuterion (council chamber), the curia (courthouse), and the macellum (covered market).
Much less survives on the site of Elea/Velia. The most striking feature is the monumental Porta Rosa, the oldest and most complete example of a Greek arched town gate. Among other noteworthy features are the imposing defensive walls of the acropolis from the 6th century BC, the fine paved street and the remains of several temples. When the Phocaeans abandoned their coastal site, the remaining inhabitants of Velia established a new town inland. Novi Velia is typical of the medieval towns of Cilento: they are built on strategically defensive sites on hilltops and on the ancient communications routes along the mountain ridges. The houses cluster round a central castle or watchtower, the other prominent feature being the church, and in some cases a monastic group. Of the monastic properties, the most impressive is the Certosa di San Lorenzo at Padula in the Vallo di Diano. Construction began in 1306, but in its present form it is essentially Baroque, built in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC
Historical Description
Archaeological research show that the earliest human occupation identified in this region dates back to over 250,000 years ago, in the Lower Palaeolithic period, when Homo erectus was living in caves along the coast. In the Middle Palaeolithic Homo neanderthalensis moved into the region, and artefacts of the Mousterian Culture have been found on various sites. Homo sapiens sapiens replaced his Neanderthal cousin during the Upper Palaeolithic period and established seasonal camps during this and the subsequent Mesolithic period.
The good soils and climate favoured the introduction of settled farming during the Neolithic period. Finds of obsidian from the Lipari Islands indicate that maritime trade began at this time, no doubt encouraged by the relatively good harbours along the Lucanian coast and the communication routes afforded by the topography up the river valleys. Neolithic settlements have been discovered in a number of places across the area of the Park. The Gaudo Culture, which established itself over a very wide area of Lucania and Calabria, was instrumental in defining the special role of Cilento in the penetration of the Italian peninsula by more advanced Mediterranean cultures.
During the Bronze and Iron Ages small groups of warriors and traders moved into to the region. They came in search of metals and brought with them advanced technologies. In response, the scattered peoples of the region formed themselves into larger ethnic groups which resulted in the creation of a protourban social and economic structure. Transhumance pastoralism, perhaps introduced from further north, established itself successfully in the early 2nd millennium BC, and brought with it some profound changes in human settlement, especially in the interior.
By the end of the 2nd millennium trade with Mycenae had become substantial, and many of the sophisticated cultural and technological elements of Late Bronze Age Greece were introduced. With the collapse of Mycenae this trade with the Eastern Mediterranean declined greatly, to be replaced by active trade within the peninsula itself, since Cilento was also an important boundary zone with the Etruscan cultures of northern Italy. In the 9th-7th centuries BC this resulted in the arrival of a warrior aristocratic society, the Villanovan Culture, from the region around Bologna which imposed its imprint on the landscape and its use.
Greek colonization began in the late 7th century with coastal trading settlements being established at Agropoli and Poseidonia (Paestum) in the northern part of Cilento. Elea (Velia) was founded in 540 BC and was to become one of the most influential centres of learning in the ancient world. The Eleatic school, based on the affirmation of the identity and eternity of the spirit, was founded by Xenophanes of Colophon, and was later to be led by Parmenides and Zeno. It was especially noted for its development of experimental methods, in astronomy and medicine in particular.
At the end of the 5th century BC the Lucanians of the interior, led by their Shepherd Kings, who had adopted the Greek way of life, defeated the league of Greek coastal cities, apart from Elea, which may well have been spared so as to provide a commercial link with the other Greek colonies around the Mediterranean. A new urban culture grew up, many new towns were founded, and large areas of woodland were felled for agriculture and the planting of olives and vines.
The region was inevitably incorporated into the territories of Rome in the later 3rd century BC. The network of major highways established by the Romans relegated the ancient system of tracks that traversed Cilento, and as a result the towns in the interior lost much of their importance. It was not until the Western Roman Empire crumbled and its roads and bridges fell into disrepair that the earlier network of communication and settlement came into its own again. During the Middle Ages feudal castles and religious foundations were established within the pre-Roman framework, the Greek and Lucanian towns revived, and the resulting landscape has survived to the present day.
Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC
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