LEGENDS AND HIDDEN GEMS OF SALERNO

In medieval times the Principality of Salerno was very large and also included the territories of the principality of Capua, northern Calabria, and the cities of Avellino and Taranto. The city therefore was the capital of the Lombard principality and remained so until the arrival of the Normans between the 11th and 12th centuries. 
It may seem incredible to you, but today you can still touch the traces of Lombard rule. This is possible in the monumental complex of San Pietro a Corte, the only archaeological evidence of Longobard palatial architecture. This structure, too, is owed to Arechi II, who had a palace with a chapel built right on the remains of a Roman-era building, including a frigidarium (the room dedicated to cold-water baths). Over the centuries a bell tower and staircase were added to the chapel, while inside mullioned and single-lancet windows from the Lombard period are still visible.
Longobard traces are not only limited to architecture, but there are examples in painting as well! In the Church of Santa Maria de Lama, in fact, there are ancient Lombard frescoes dating back to the 11th century that constitute the only evidence of Lombard painting in Salerno. In particular, we recognize the figures of St. Bartholomew and St. Andrew, both portrayed in the gesture of blessing.

Another place where you will be able to trace the history of Salerno and Campania from the Middle Ages to the 18th century is the San Matteo Diocesan Museum. The museum contains works of art of enormous interest that in the 1930s Monsignor Arturo Capone located inside the sacristy and chapel of the Treasury of Salerno Cathedral.
The centerpiece of the collection is definitely the "Salerno ivory cycle": these are 67 ivory plaques, found in the Cathedral, depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments and which, thanks to their excellent state of preservation, constitute the most important decorative ivory cycle in the world. Just think that some of these are even preserved in the Louvre in Paris and New York! Other unique pieces are the illuminated Exsultet scrolls dating from the 13th century and the room of Renaissance paintings, including those by Andrea Sabatini, known as Andrea da Salerno.

A few hundred meters from the cathedral is what has been judged as "the most beautiful Baroque church" in Salerno, namely the Church of San Giorgio. Although the origins of the complex are Lombard, it was decorated inside by the great Campanian painters of the 17th and 18th centuries, including Angelo and Francesco Solimena and Andrea da Salerno. In addition, during the restoration following the 1980 earthquake, the remains of a 10th-century frescoed apse emerged below the current floor, made visible through an electrical device that raises the floor.

In short, Salerno is truly mysterious and full of surprises! Every church has its own story, every corner might reveal a secret: don't stop at appearances, go discover the city's most hidden gems! You will surely not regret it!