ABOUT HISTORY....


The GRAND HOTEL PAESTUM is located in the Laura Zone of the Capaccio Coastline. The Laura Zone is one of the largest communities in the Southern Italian Province of Salerno, located between the Ocean Outlet of the River Sele and the Archaeological site of ancient Paestum.
Paestum is centrally located in the large plain of Sele, surrounded by the mountain chains of the Cilento, the Alburni and the Picentini, the town of Salerno to the North, and kissed by the Mediterranean on the West. Just to the North there are the world famous Amalfi Coast and the Island of Capri. On the South lays the Cilento Coast and the National Nature Preserve of Punta Licosa.

For thousands of years, the plains, mountains and sea of this beautiful region have attracted people from all cultures and all over the world. In fact, according to Greek Mythology, Jason and the Argonauts landed here at the Outlet of the River Sele after the conquest of the ‘Golden Veil’, and it is here they built the Temple for the Goddess Hera ‘Argiva’, ( Temple Heraion ).

The archaeological history of our zone attracts many people because through it’s evidence the history of many civilizations of the oenolitical and modern periods may be tracked. Moreover, you may literally walk along in the footsteps of the Greek-Sybarites, of Samnites, and of course of the Romans – Ovidio Nasone, ( Ovid ), himself praised Paestum for its beautiful roses!

During the late – Roman period, Paestum became a marshland because of devastating deforestation in the high Sele, and therefore the people migrated to the mountain of Capaccio, where may be found Capaccio Vecchio and the Sanctuaria della Madonna del Granato. Capaccio later became the Episcopal Seat of the world for many centuries, dating from 1100 AD. Also of local and Medieval historical importance was the dramatic ending to the Conspiracy of the Cilentan Barons against Emperor Federico II in 1244 AD. Paestum was literally abandoned, with even the trees and vegetables neglected and forgotten. It was only rediscovered again circa 1750AD, and re-emerged as a place of learning, especially for poets including J.W. Goethe.

On into the 18th Century the zone was renowned for its hunting, and the buildings of that period were equipped especially for this purpose as you may still see in the Ancient Master’s Residence of Tenuta Lupo.

During the first half of the 1900’s, Paestum was reclaimed for rural cultivation and given over to the breeding of buffalo – the zone is today world famous for its typical Buffalo Mozzerella. And in the mid-1900’s, Paestum – Capaccio was reclaimed for the Allies when American troops landed there in 1943. Since the 1960’s our zone has been steadily growing as an important tourist and educational site.