Carbonation

Happened to find in ancient texts the statement that the Silaro, what is today called the Sele River, transformed into stone anything that had the misfortune of falling into its waves, yet with traces of petrification there are none present along its banks from the sources to the mouth.

Actually exists a watercourse in the Sele plain which has the properties attributed to the aforementioned river, it is a minor watercourse, a river of modest length, about ten kilometers in total which laps the walls of Paestum from the side of Porta Giustizia (the one that opens towards Agropoli, so to speak).

It is the Salso River, whose sources at the base of Monte Calpazio form a small lake in the Capodifiume area, at the end of the straight path that leads from Capaccio Scalo to the towns of Capaccio Nuova and Roccadaspide.

In the golden times of the city of Pesto, its waters were used to fill the moat that surrounded the city thanks also to the constant flow of supply. The waters of the Salso River where they stagnate have the ability to cover all the immersed objects with a layer of limestone which is rich in, here is the petrification, over the centuries it has formed along the stretch that it has crossed a large tuff platform on which the city of Paestum itself set the foundations.

Near the southern wall stands the temple of Neptune which several scholars attribute to the dedication to Medical Apollo and nearby there is also the temple of Asclepius, god of medicine, an area therefore intended for the treatment of body, with a medical vocation and this was possible thanks to the Salso waters and its properties.

The ancients, as previously mentioned, attributed petrifying properties to these waters and were used, according to Horace in the Epistles, for cold baths and hydrotherapy. Strabo also adds that its waters are drinkable while Pliny the Elder specifies that the waters are also healthy.

The farmers of the 19th century also used its waters for cooking and bread, thus saving on the purchase of salt. Waters contain not only the presence of sodium chloride (NaCL) and a high component of calcium carbonate (CaCo3) but also of other salts such as chloride of hydrated magnesium (MgCl2 • nH2O).

Therefore, adding the presence of temples dedicated to the muni of medicine near the river, a strong presence of calcium carbonate and magnesium chloride in its waters clearly suggests that its use for therapeutic purposes dates back to the glories of the city of Pestum itself.

Calcium carbonate, in addition to containing excess gastric acidity, is a diuretic in the treatment of rickets and as an antidote for heavy metal intoxication, while magnesium chloride regulates the correct calcification of the bones as well as stabilizing blood pressure and the nervous system .