Salerno, Vietri sul Mare, Paestum

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We stayed in Salerno for four days in a beautiful Airbnb with a view of the castle from the rooftop terrace. My only complaint was that none of the other places we stayed in could compare. But it's not ideal if you are travelling by car. We had to park the car a few kilometers away in the free parking next to the train station. And paid parking is complicated (and expensive) - On our last night we managed to drive in to a ZTL zone and got a fine. This one was entirely down to Google maps. I often think how did we ever manage without Google and this is true, but we've also had some epic fails with them. Avis has taken a 50 euro administration charge but so far there has been no sign of the fine.

We really liked Salerno. Here are some of the things that we did:

* Ate all our meals in the historic center

* Walked many times around the street art project

* Visited the beautiful Minerva Gardens

* Took a walk on the Trieste Lungomare seaside promenade

* Took a bus to Vietri sul Mare - where all the ceramics on the Amalfi coast are made

* Made a trip to Paestum - Greek temples, one hour south of Salerno by car

* Stopped into the 11th century Duomo and strolled around the surrounding streets.

We didn't make it up to Arechi Castle which has views over Salerno and the Tyrrhenian Sea. We could see it from our terrace though.

Our favorite spot in Salerno was the Minerva Gardens, a botanical garden in the historical center of Salerno. In the Middle Ages it was used by students from the Medical School. This small garden is spread over three terraces and is built on the old city walls with views of the sea, old town and mountains.

The Muri d'autore is a street art project. It features the poetry of Salerno native Alfonso Gatto and is the work of Italian and international artists. It's located in a more neglected part of the historic center to help rejuvenate that part of the city and bring more tourists in. I didn't read about it beforehand so it was a real surprise for us and there's a lot of it.

We took a day trip to Paestum, a Unesco World Heritage site about an hour south of Salerno. Originally named Poseidonia, it is home to three of the world's best preserved Greek temples. The south of Italy was colonized by Ancient Greeks before being incorporated into the Roman Empire. Some of these ancient cities still stand today. The best known is Neapolis - new city - now named Naples. Today there are about 12,000 people in southern Italy that still speak a Greek dialect called Griko.

We continued down the Cilento Coast to Acciaroli, a village famous for its population of centenarians. There are around 2,000 centenarians, out of a population of 60,000, in the region of Cilento where Acciaroli is based. It was very quiet there - and we only saw one person that looked like she might be old enough. Needless to say, we didn't ask her age.

Another day trip is to Vietri sul Mare, a little village 10 minutes by bus from Salerno. It is famous for its ceramics. Most of the ceramics for sale on the Amalfi Coast are produced here - and yes, it's cheaper to buy in Vietri. Apart from the pretty ceramic shops, there is tiling on the market stalls, village walls and along the promenade. The park's railings, steps and seats are tiled. This is a very photogenic place.

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Photos

Salerno's Duomo
the bronze doors were cast in Constantinople in the 11th century

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Nice wall art
Cool.