Salerno and Cilento in depth

Salerno and Cilento

Salerno is Campania's second-largest city and a gentler base after Naples and Sorrento. Cobbled streets, outdoor cafes and architecture ranging from San Matteo to the Salerno Maritime Terminal give the provincial capital a strong identity. South of it, Cilento reaches towards Basilicata and combines Paestum, Velia, the Vallo di Diano, the Certosa di Padula, quiet beaches and the original mozzarella di bufala.

Salerno-Costa d'Amalfi airport began commercial flights in 2024. Hire a car at the airport or in Salerno for independent travel. From April to October, ferries leave central Salerno throughout the day for Amalfi Coast day trips. Trains serve the Cilento coast, with hourly services between Agropoli, Paestum and Salerno. Inside Parco Nazionale del Cilento there are no trains and buses are sporadic, so Salerno is a useful base for the coast but not a substitute for a car in the park.

Giardino della Minerva

Giardino della Minerva contains more than 300 plant species and offers a cool escape a few minutes from the Lungomare. In the early 1300s, physician Matteo Silvatico of the Schola Medica Salernitana cultivated medicinal plants here for teaching. The lower terrace remains organised around the ancient four-humour system of blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm. At the time of research the garden was closed for renovation; check giardinodellaminerva.it before going.

Salerno's winter lights and Duomo

From November to January, Luci d'Artista fills Salerno with themed light installations, a giant Christmas tree and a Ferris wheel over the Gulf. The Duomo is entered through the 12th-century Porta dei Leoni. Its courtyard, bronze doors cast in Constantinople and Romanesque bell tower lead to a baroque interior with 13th-century mosaics. The right apse contains the Chapel of the Crusades, and the crypt holds San Matteo's remains beneath late mannerist frescoes. Entry is by a suggested donation of €1; see cattedraledisalerno.it.

A walk through Salerno's historic centre

Allow 1.5 km and one to two hours. Start at Largo Plebiscito and Museo Diocesano San Matteo, whose ivory collection is covered by the Duomo ticket. Follow Via Nicola Montersi to the Duomo and down Via Duomo, then turn through Vicolo Cassavecchia to Museo della Ceramica Alfonso Tafuri, free and filled with painted tiles. Continue through Vicolo Adelberga to San Pietro a Corte, a slightly leaning medieval church, then follow Via dei Canali and Via Dogana Vecchia to Via Mercanti and its artisan shops. Finish at Chiesa di San Giorgio, with its baroque decoration and yellow-tiled floor, and the virtual-reality presentation at Schola Medica Salernitana. The medical school was founded in the ninth century and admitted women as students, practitioners and teachers.

Cilento produce shapes Salerno's menus: limone IGP Costa d'Amalfi, buffalo mozzarella, Cilento charcuterie, carciofo bianco del Tanagro, pomodoro San Marzano DOP and provolone del Monaco DOP. The local dish milza imbottita, or meveza in dialect, is spleen stuffed with garlic, parsley and pepper, then cooked in oil and vinegar and served in a panino.

Castello di Arechi

Castello di Arechi stands in forest above Salerno. The Lombard Duke Arechi expanded the sixth-century fortifications in the eighth century, and Normans and Aragonese later altered them. Adult/child admission is €4/2. Wild capers, mullein and fig trees now grow around the grey stone, while the views follow Salerno's red roofs around the bay and along the coast. The small medieval museum displays pottery, coin hoards and Roman finds, and the basement cistern remains accessible. The castle is about 10 minutes by car from the centre, has small car parks and is served by bus 19 every 80 minutes. A harder alternative is the 10 km Sentiero del Principe from the Duomo, with many stairs; see ilcastellodiarechi.it.

Parco Nazionale del Cilento

The Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park is Italy's second-largest protected park and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. It stretches from the Tyrrhenian coast to the Campania and Lucanian Apennines and protects the region from uncontrolled building and mass tourism. The park includes 86 municipalities and more than 250,000 residents, a population associated with unusually long lifespans.

The Certosa di Padula is Italy's largest monastery, built over 450 years for Carthusian monks. It later served French troops during the Napoleonic Wars and Garibaldi's army during the Risorgimento. Nearby Battistero di San Giovanni in Fonte is an early Christian baptistery fed by a natural spring. The 47 sq km Valle delle Orchidee near Sassano contains more than 70 wild orchid species; in May, the hills flower and local festivals celebrate them.

Salerno's Oyster

Arriving by boat, the Stazione Marittima di Salerno looks like a futuristic aquarium. Known as the Oyster, the 2016 terminal has an undulating roof that joins water and shore and complements the older Lungomare. It was designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, and was the first completed work after her death. Ferries and cruises use the building, which can be dominated by large ships in season.

Paestum

Ancient Greek colonies once occupied much of what are now Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily. Paestum preserves that Magna Graecia world at full scale. The Greek city of Poseidonia later became Roman Paestum, and the ruins were rediscovered in the 1760s and excavated more extensively in the 1930s after a train station and museum opened.

• ✦The temples are about a 10-minute walk from the train station.
• ✦Eco CiceraleRent in Paestum rents bicycles, scooters and cars.
• ✦Some of the strongest restaurants are in Laura, about 10 minutes by car.
• ✦Check the official site or visitor QR code for current prices and opening hours.

A road trip through Cilento

The 132 km route can fill two leisurely days, or you can choose a section. Start at the Grotte di Castelcivita karst caves, then take SS488 through Controne and SS60 past cliffs, dry-stone walls, wild cherries and figs. Stop in Postiglione for its red-roof medieval centre, Norman castle and Piazza Europa, then continue on SS19 to Auletta among mountain rock faces. Next reach Sicignano degli Alburni, with a 14th-century castle, baroque churches, historic convent and two Monte Alburno trails.

On the second day, follow SS35 past high-ridge Petina, then take twisting SP125, or the faster SP35 and E45, to Polla, with Roman origins, a riverfront, 12th-century castle and dark stone houses. Continue on E45 and scenic SS166 to Teggiano, full of churches, museums, a cathedral and a castle. Follow the signs to Sant'Angelo a Fasanella, with 13th-century convents, churches, a Roman bridge and atmospheric old centre, then travel about 18 km west to prehistoric Castelcivita.

Places to stay

In a nutshell: Use this page for Salerno and Cilento, then reconnect with the Campania overview, Naples in depth, archaeology and Campi Flegrei, and islands and coast.