Founded by Dionysius in 396 to have a base on the north coast to protect his empire against invasion — whether from the Carthaginians, the fading Etruscans or more Greeks in the East — Tyndaris sits on a high bluff by the coast. It did well under the Romans, and even when much of it fell into the sea when Vesuvius erupted, it continued to flourish.
Its most impressive building is its theater, which boasted a large, Roman scene building, and was also used for gladiator fights:
It also boasts a strange building, perhaps a basilica, that blocks the second most important street towards the east end of the city:
There are some grand houses with some fine mosaics:
And a small, but good museum with a fine head of Augustus:
