Elea/ Velia, Paestum, Buccino
We travel to the Cilento territory to experience an enlightened cultural and existential experience that places you at the cradle of Western philosophy. We combine archeological visits, food, and modern luxury, in a travel opportunity to engage you with the timeless heritage, beauty of the territory of Cilento, and its extraordinary cultural richness. This area has enchanted scholars and archeologists, such as Goethe and Winckelmann, philosophers, and architects such as Nietzsche and Piranesi, poets and artists from Ungaretti to Gillo Dorfles Mimmo Paladino. For twenty-five hundred years, this territory has nourished the mind, the soul, and the palate of sophisticated artists and travelers searching for beauty and harmony.
Within this historical, archeological landscape and its cultural patrimony, bufala products’ farming developed through time. The Romans introduced Bufala Farming practices in Italy, and this was particular to the fertile soil of Paestum. Agriculture and natural dairy products created a prosperous economy in the region. Bufala’s development and other healthy food such as ancient grains, olive oil, figs, and grapes came from this extraordinarily fertile soil and is considered some of the best organic products in the world. Indeed, the Aglianico grapes are one of the most ancient grapes known today.
Finally, the Mediterranean diet was created in Pioppi and reached a worldwide diffusion that is highly valued for its nutritional values.
Ethica Heritage intends to explore the richness of Italian archeological sites across time and cultural influences. Each mission represents for our guests and friends a unique approach to archeological sites completed with culinary experience and modern luxury setting in a unique way to recapture and envision lifestyles and human connection with the past.
Ethica Heritage operates with a deep commitment to present, preserve, and promote the beauty and cultural richness of any archeological and historical site it visits. During its visits, forums, and research, Ethica Heritage will engage with local experts, cultural promoters, and institutions to present a unique and detailed state of historical and archeological sites across time and historical periods to our guests and friends. Ethica Travel will foster sustainable tourism, which promotes historical, archeological, local Mediterranean patrimony landscape.
Notes on Paestum, Italy
When we initially thought about developing Ethica Heritage, we imagined a location with archeological sites representing the quintessential qualities of the Western World: archaeology, migration, architecture, and art. Along with these factors, we also considered great food—another boundless asset of Cilento. Paestum was undoubtedly the site to explore and is an archeological gem of Campania’s region and is an important UNESCO World Heritage site (since 1998). This region of Cilento and has a vibrant cultural landscape.
Once Poseidonia (sacred to Poseidon) was founded in c.600 BCE by earlier exiled Greek colonists from Sybaris (Calabria), the area was more than likely occupied by another human settlement when they arrived. The migration of Greeks into Cilento was part of a wave of Greek colonization referred to as Magna Graecia. Later the Romans renamed Poseidonia in c.273 BCE. The Romans razed the city but did not destroy the temples. The area continued to prosper until, according to Strabo, the mouth of the river Silararus started to be buried with sand and silt, and the whole place turned into a malarial swamp. The swamp also encroached on the urban settlement, and Paestum inhabitants abandoned the site after Muslim raiders sacked the city in c. AD 871. Visitors feel this influence of 3000 years when walking through the Via Sacra and the city’s three surviving temples dedicated to Zeus’ wife, Hera, and one to Athena.
In the mid-eighteenth century, Paestum was also part of the excitement of the age of discoveries of nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum. However, Paestum was always known to the local population. Winckelmann studied these important temples and posited that Roman architecture developed from the Greek foundational style of the Doric order.
During a walk through the archaeological site of Paestum, visitors will perceive a spiritual and emotional calmness and sense of belonging to this area which is embedded in our emotional capacities to experience historical sites and art.