Established as a Greek colony under the name of Poseidonia, Paestum in in southern Italy was eventually conquered by the local Lucanians and later the Romans. The Lucanians renamed it to Paistos and the Romans gave the city its current name. As Paestum, the town became a bishopric, but it was abandoned in the early Middle Ages, when the progressive silting up of the River Salso rendered the area swampy and insalubrious. There is no more information about Paestum until the sixteenth century, when the works of painters and writers such as Pietro Summonte rekindled interest in the city by portraying the state of the ruins. Nevertheless, the true “rediscovery” of the city did not take place until the eighteenth century when Paestum became a significant destination on the Grand Tour. From then on, illustrious visitors, including Goethe, Piranesi, Dos Passos, Shelley, Canova, and others, were attracted by its renowned beauty and spread news of it throughout Europe.