A sunny day in Salerno
I like Salerno very much. In the years I live here, this city become a pearl near the sea and continue this development. Not only it's a beautiful little town, not only it is situated not far from a great quantity of interesting places, but I feel sure to walk in these streets even in the night.
I would never do it in Neaples. I don't know if I'm right to be afraid, but I would think 10 times to do something like this in Neaples. It's the problem of all capitals I think.
The old part begins not far from the port where I get off my bus. I raise my head and see the castel and the tower, what is difficult if you are in the other places.
At the left is Verdi-theater and at the right begins a hystorical garden. If you remember, I wrote about the hystorical garden of Neaples, but this little garden is very different. Here the architects gathered together typical plants from all the regions and reconstructed landscapes too. You find scientifical names near every plant.
Here you can meet not only greenery, but interesting persons too. They'll tell you everything about Salerno, where to go,what to see, what they remember about the war. They reveal you, the seagulls on the seafront are waiting for them and they will die from hunger if the oldies don't come to feed them.
Leaved this park, you enter directly in the square in front of municipality. It's interesting to visit saturday or sunday evening. It's the place where you find all young population of the city. And here you have to come to hear musik, to dance at the great feasts.
But today I want to visit special places, turn left and thread into the streets of the old part of the city.
The medieval towns were fortresses first of all. Important streets were 2 horses large, others could pass 1-2 persons. When the enemies entered in the town, it was easy to close them in those streets with everything residents had in their houses, and they threw stones, water or killed enemies from few windows in the top of their housewalls.
In the next side-street I see an unnoticeable structure named San Pietro a Corte.
The state gifted this beach to their veterans in 194 bC. It was too far from all important cities, but vets received earth they wanted and the only way to Sud of peninsula was protected. So everybody was satisfied. From those times till XIX cent. developed this city inside the town-walls. So if you look under your feet you'll find meters and meters of history. You laugh maybe: how can I see under my feet in the earth? It's not problem, if you visit this building (saturday and sunday only ). Here you'll find archeological excavation with all the history of the city under your eyes.
Bell-tower and "main entrance" are not relevant-What is interesting are the walls. They are here from VII-VIII cent. and were a beautiful prince-palace covered with pieces of coloured marmor. These walls shined in the sun, specially if seen from the sea, and every traveller was amazed how reach was the longobard prince of Salerno. Immagin, people live in the walls old more then 1000 years! Here you see it better, this wall.
One day this building become property of the state and archeologists could finally see what is under the streets here. They had to clean all add-rooms all over this building, refuse and wood that was inside it under the church. Under the privat chapel of the prince (1) was oratorio(2), a school for christians, that was build in the orthodox church and it's cemetery(3) III-V cent., and the orthodox church was created in one of the rooms of roman "terme"(public bath) (4) that is 7 meters under the street level.
If you go round this place you find this little church that is over the boiler of the bath. And here you see how the residents used every piece they could find left from Roman Empire in many places of the old town .
The walls seem to be not very beautiful, but it's really a pleasure to walk through the streets of the old town.
Category Article Italy
