Comune di Vibo Valentia
Information
Vibo Valentia
How long can a city stay hidden beneath another? In Vibo Valentia, twenty-five centuries. This route takes you down from the Norman-Swabian Castle to the sea, revealing one by one the cities it holds within: the Greek Hipponion, the Roman Valentia, the Vibo of noble palaces and baroque churches. You will see a small gold tablet with instructions for the afterlife, walls twenty-five hundred years old, a baptistery resurfaced by chance beneath a square.
Vibo Valentia for kids
Hi! I'm Lina, the little swallow who flies over Vibo Valentia every day. Do you want to see a city that hides two more underneath it, a Greek one and a Roman one, right under your feet? Climb on with me: we start from the castle atop the hill and go down to the sea. Along the way I'll show you a little gold sheet full of mysterious words, walls older than two thousand years and a harbor that looks out at the islands. At every stop there's a secret to discover. Put on your headphones and open your wings with me: let's fly!
Beneath today's Vibo Valentia lie at least two more ancient cities: the Greek colony of Hipponion and the Roman city of Valentia. The route begins at the top, at the Norman-Swabian Castle overlooking the hill, and descends to the sea, crossing over twenty-five centuries of history.
In the castle's halls, the "Vito Capialbi" Archaeological Museum houses the most astonishing piece: a thin gold sheet from the 4th century BC, engraved with instructions to guide the soul of the deceased into the afterlife. From there you will walk along the Greek walls of Hipponion, past temples, noble palaces, baroque churches and the Cathedral of San Leoluca, all the way to the coast, between the Castle of Bivona and the harbor overlooking the Aeolian Islands. Thirty-nine stops to understand how a single city could have lived so many lives.
Itineraries
Vibo Valentia
How long can a city stay hidden beneath another? In Vibo Valentia, twenty-five centuries. This route takes you down from the Norman-Swabian Castle to the sea, revealing one by one the cities it holds within: the Greek Hipponion, the Roman Valentia, the Vibo of noble palaces and baroque churches. You will see a small gold tablet with instructions for the afterlife, walls twenty-five hundred years old, a baptistery resurfaced by chance beneath a square.
Vibo Valentia for kids
Hi! I'm Lina, the little swallow who flies over Vibo Valentia every day. Do you want to see a city that hides two more underneath it, a Greek one and a Roman one, right under your feet? Climb on with me: we start from the castle atop the hill and go down to the sea. Along the way I'll show you a little gold sheet full of mysterious words, walls older than two thousand years and a harbor that looks out at the islands. At every stop there's a secret to discover. Put on your headphones and open your wings with me: let's fly!
