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The relay highlighted Athens and Rome, the two poles of classical civilisation. In order to recall the relationship between the ancient and modern Games, it passed through numerous ancient sites and birthplaces of athletes who excelled at the ancient Olympic Games.
Notably, the relay travelled through the coastal region of Italy in the south, known in Antiquity as Great Greece (Magna Graecia), where Greek colonies such as Metapontum and Tarento were located.v
13 August 1960: After a relay in Greece via Pyrgos, Patras, Corinth, Megara and Eleusis, the flame reached Athens at the end of the day. The same evening it set sail on the Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian navy training ship.
18 August: The flame reached Italian soil in Syracuse near the Arethusa fountain, a monument that refers to an ancient legend. En route for Rome, a flame was left in Naples, where the sailing competitions were held, and in Castel Gandolfo, host of the rowing and canoe events.
24 August: The relay entered the province of Rome on the Via Appia Nuova. That evening, the flame was welcomed with great pomp on the Capitoline Hill where it spent the night and, the next day it was taken to the Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Stadium.
It was for the Rome 1960 Games that the relay was televised for the first time.