The Civitella Archaeological Park is one of the best kept secrets of the inland Cilento.

Forget the millions of tourists a year of the great Campania archaeological attractions (Pompeii, for example), where the archaeological wonders must be “glimpsed” among the throngs of visitors.

Here, the archaeological remains must be glimpsed … among centuries-old chestnut trees!

The site was in fact discovered very recently, just over 50 years ago, precisely because of the orography of the place: over the centuries, nature had recovered these spaces. And today it offers a splendid fusion between historical finds and natural monuments.

It immediately interested important universities: for example, Prof. A. Schnapp from the University of Paris has been investigating Civitella for years.

The remains clearly indicate that it is a Greek defensive structure dating back to the 4th century BC: Civitella was the phrourion of Elea towards the lands of the Lucanians, a defensive military outpost that served to control the Greek territories from these powerful and warlike neighbours.

It has a double megalithic wall with five access doors, built according to the pincer scheme, which follows the orography and runs on three sides: an overhang naturally protected the north side. To expand the defensive function, there's the presence of a protyron, a sort of bottleneck towards the internal door that prevented the passage of numerous people. The pseudoisodomic blocks recall another Greek wall of Cilento, the one of Policastro.

The living spaces are located in the innermost part, for greater protection. The Acropolis, the upper part, housed a place of worship.

One of the most extraordinary elements is precisely the fusion of the building with the landscape. The fortification makes the most of the characteristics of the hill, from the top of which it is possible to have a field of view that ranges from the sea of ​​Elea to the mountains to the plain of the Alento river. This makes it one of the most admirable examples of military architecture of antiquity.

And this place so cloaked in beauty is still today a formidable discovery: far from the crowds, it reserves for its visitors the thrill of walking at the same time in the midst of the purest nature and the most fascinating history.