There is nothing quite like standing eye to eye with the Temple of Hera at Tavole Palatine, a 6th-century BCE Greek temple in the Basilicata countryside. In front of me are 15 massive Doric columns and a bunch of brush, and the only noise is the whir of occasional cars passing along the strada statale.

I feel as if I’ve walked onto a set from Clash of the Titans or a live-action Hercules, which becomes even more epic when a group of art grad students from Milan wander in and start belting out the film’s song “Zero to Hero” in Italian. Surreal? Nope, this is the south, where myth, history, and pop culture blur beneath the Italian sun.