Tristan Hughes

Like the Etruscans, who at that time were still the dominant power in Italy.

Rome, at that time, still paled in comparison.

Visit somewhere like the National Museum of Archaeology in Naples today and you can see great examples of this Italiot Greek art.

But the art from Pestum is particularly special.

Pestum has treasures that are as rare and as beautiful as anything from ancient Greece, with one particular example standing out above all others.

It was discovered one and a half kilometres south of Pestum, not in a grand temple, but in a tomb.

It's called the Tomb of the Diver, after one of the most stunning pieces of ancient Greek art in the world.

A wall painting, rectangular in its design, that depicts a very unique and tranquil scene.

A young man who has just jumped off a tall platform, caught in a perfect dive position, moments away from hitting a pool of water beneath him.

Today, this painting has become a symbol of Pestum and the ancient Greeks in Italy, on display at Pestum's Archaeological Museum.

I was lucky enough to see it up close with Tiziana as my expert guide.

I mean, Tiziana, I have to say, this is one of the most incredible wall paintings I've ever seen.

The details that survive, I mean, it's astonishing.

And of all places, and this, so this is roughly 2,500 years old and you wouldn't believe it at first when you see it because of how much has survived.

What exactly can we see here?

I'm guessing this figure right in the centre, the main character, this is the diver.

So this would be face down in the tomb.

And what other things can we see here?

So we've got this kind of, this platform-like image here, and is there water there?

So what are these other details?