Metaponto is a popular coastal resort on the Ionian Sea where the locals go to enjoy the award-winning Blue Flag water and long stretches of fine sandy beaches bordered by pinewoods.

This coastline is also where the culture of ‘Magna Grecia’ developed.

Metaponto is famous for it’s rich heritage of archaeological materials remaining from the Greek ‘founders’ of ‘Metapontum’ in 773 BC.

Attracted to the area for its fertile land and corn, the town became an important cultural centre. One of the greatest philosophers of that time, Pythagoras, moved here around 510 BC and set up a school that lasted 200 years.

Traces of this ‘glorious past’ can be seen in the open-air museum that follows the path of the Greeks arriving at Metaponto up to the Roman era.

Other must-sees include the remains of ancient temples and an amphitheatre.