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Metapontum was an important city of Magna Graecia, situated on the gulf of Tarentum, between the river Bradanus and the Casuentus (modern Basento). It was founded by the Achaeans of the Greek Peloponnese c. 720 BCE as part of the wave of Greek colonization from the 8th century BCE onwards across the entire region of southern Italy. Thriving on agriculture and trade, the city became one of the most prosperous colonies in Magna Graecia.
Today, the best surviving evidence of Metapontum's importance in antiquity is the 6th century BCE Temple of Hera with 15 of its Doric columns still standing. A theatre was built over the assembly place in the 5th century BCE which had half columns and a Doric frieze. The theatre was remodelled again in the mid-4th century BCE and in its current form measured 62 metres at its widest part and could seat some 8,000 people.
References:Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.
Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.
There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.