The last column of the temple of Hera Lacinia on the promontory
About ten kilometres south of Crotone, at the tip of a promontory jutting into the Ionian Sea, a single Doric column, about eight metres high, stands alone against the sky and the sea: it is all that remains of the great temple of Hera Lacinia, one of the most famous sanctuaries of Magna Graecia, built in the fifth century BC and dedicated to Hera, queen of the gods and protector of women and sailors. In antiquity, the temple had 48 columns and was visited by pilgrims from all over the Greek world; its treasure was legendary, and it is said that Hannibal, who spent his last years in Italy here, left an inscription in Greek and Punic describing his deeds. Over the centuries, the temple was plundered and its stones used to build the port and the palaces of Crotone, until only one column remained, which gave the promontory its name.
Today the area is an archaeological park, with the remains of the sanctuary, walls, buildings and the Roman road, set in a landscape of Mediterranean scrub and fields overlooking the sea, and a modern museum that displays finds from the excavations. Many treasures of the sanctuary, including the famous gold diadem of Hera, are kept in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Crotone. Crotone itself, the ancient Kroton, was the city of the philosopher Pythagoras, who founded his school here, and of the athlete Milo, champion of the Olympic Games. The sea around Capo Colonna is part of the Area Marina Protetta Capo Rizzuto, one of the largest in Italy.
Tip: visit at sunset, when the column stands out against the sky; then see Hera's treasure in Crotone.
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