The Sibaritide area was the center of the Enotri civilization, which flourished in the Iron Age, before being swept away by the Greek colonists who arrived from Achaia in 730-720 BC. about. The Greeks defeated and reduced the premises to slavery, then founded Sibari, the center of the area where goods from Anatolia, in particular from Miletus, passed through.
In Antiquity the wealth of Sibari was proverbial, but its fate was marked, after the victory against Siris (allied to Crotone and Metaponto), by the war against Crotone. The conflict probably arose for reasons of commercial disputes and culminated in the Battle of Nika (510 BC), which saw the victory of the crotonians, the siege of Sibari and, seventy days later, its destruction, for which the Crati river to pass over the ruins of the defeated city.
Sibari's survivors left for the motherland, where they obtained the help of Athens to return to Calabria and found, in 444 BC. with other new Athenian colonists, a new colony on the same site, later called Turi. The new layout of the city was designed by the famous architect and urban planner Ippodamo. The conflicts between Sybarites and Athenians, however, led to an internal conflict, which culminated in the expulsion of the Sybarites.
In 194 BC the city was founded again as a Roman colony with the name of Copiae, which was soon changed back to Thurii. It continued to be in some way an important place, placed in a favorable position and in a fruitful region, and it would seem that it was not completely abandoned until the Middle Ages. Forgotten later, its remains were found excavated from 1932 and with particular intensity since 1969. Various construction sites are still open, so the excavation is still far from being exhausted.
On 18 January 2013 a strong flood caused a flooding in the archaeological area of ​​Sibari, also due to human neglect. 20 thousand cubic meters of water completely covered the archaeological park.
Archaeological Park of Sibari
Address: SS106 Jonica, 87011
Phone: 0981 79392
Site:
http://www.beniculturalicalabria.it/index.phpLocation inserted by
Bonometti Paola