Heraion at Foce del Sele

The Heraion at Foce del Sele (English "Heraion at the mouth of the River Sele") is an archaeological site consisting of an Ancient Greek sanctuary complex dedicated to the goddess Hera in what was Magna Graecia. When built, the complex was located at the mouth of the Sele, approximately 8 km (5.0 mi) north of the Greek city of Poseidonia that was famous for its three standing Greek temples. Due to the deposition of alluvial sediment by the river, the site now is approximately 2.3 km (1.4 mi) from the modern coast. The site is in the modern Italian comune of Capaccio-Paestum, some 40 km (25 mi) south of Salerno. Construction at the complex is dated from the sixth to at least the third centuries BC. The sanctuary included a Greek temple and other buildings. It was located in the countryside rather than in an urban development and may have included buildings to accommodate pilgrims. During the Middle Ages most of the stones were scavanged for use elsewhere as building materials or for other purposes. At one point, the best surviving pieces, including approximately 70 sixth-century metope reliefs, were excavated and moved to a museum at Paestum and very little was left at the original site other than the lowest courses of the buildings. A modern "museo narrante" has been built at the site with video displays to explain and project reconstructions of the site.