Capaccio Paestum, the Tomb of the Diver reopens to the public

The masterpiece of the artist is back visible to the public National Archaeological Museum of Paestumthe very famous Tomb of the Diverfound in 1968 in the locality Tempa del Prete, about 1.5 km south of Paestum. To date, the images of the covering slab, with the dive of a young man into a body of water, and of the side panels, with scenes of a symposium, represent a unique example of funerary painting in Magna Graecia At the beginning of V sec. a.C.

Le scene

The meaning of the scenes represented on the slabs is still debated and could refer to religious, philosophical, artistic and ritual traditions that developed in a broader Mediterranean horizon and took shape in southern Italy with the birth of alternative salvation religions to the official pantheon. Furthermore, the new research demonstrates how the use of painting in the funerary context between the late archaic and classical ages is not so unusual and would attest to the presence of consolidated local technical-pictorial expertise.

The setup

Meanwhile, work continues in the Museum to set up the new rooms dedicated to the necropolises, the painted tombs and the Roman period of the city which will soon be visible to the public again. Access to the Diver’s Hall is allowed to a maximum of 30 people at a time, accompanied by the security staff of the archaeological parks of Paestum and Velia. The duration of stay in the Diver’s Room cannot exceed 10 minutes.