Pella: In the birthplace of Alexander the Great

Despite the strategic importance attributed to it by king Archelaus, who moved the capital of Macedon from Aigai to Pella at the end of the 5th century BC, the city actually developed as a result of the ambitious economic programme of king Philip II. It acquired spacious streets and exemplary town planning, as well as the largest square agora in the ancient Greek world, while attracting travellers, poets and artists. The latter, in fact, left a strong mark on the mosaic floors and walls of the wealthy houses of Pella, where rare examples of Greek painting made with coloured mortars, have been discovered.

Excavations have revealed only part of the ancient city, which measured 4,000 stremmata in total; this is where one can marvel at courtyards with peristyles and elaborate mosaics, and also a section of the agora’s foundations.