Salerno is the most expansive district of Southern Italy. It has a mild climate and it can be considered as a tourist navel laying down the Tyrrhenian coast among the striking Amalfi Coast and Cilento Coast. Its deep azure-blue sea is, in fact, one of its most important economic and emotional resources. Its ravishing, wide and round Gulf has a low and homogenous coast, that suddenly changes near the two Coasts. All the gulf is surrounded by Mediterranean scrub and a verdant vegetation.
The majestic Norman Dome of Saint Matthew is located in the core of the historical downtown Salerno, between narrow alleys and small workshops. The cathedral was ordered by Robert Guiscard in 1709 during the episcopate of Alfano I, and it was consecrated by pope Gregory VI. It is one of the most striking examples of Medieval architecture in southern Italy. Nowadays the entrance of the Dome has a monumental staircase with a double flight, and on its top we can see the Porta dei Leoni.
At sunset, walking in the centre of Salerno, it is easy to be impressed by the monumental complex. The castle is situated on mount Bonadies and at night it is charmingly illuminated. From its position (300 meters above sea level) it overlooks the whole city. The castle was built in VII century and then renovated by prince Arechi II. He chose mount Bonadies as the perfect place for the city defence, as from there it is easy to keep under control enemies’ attacks from both sea and land.
The old town is Salerno’s beating heart, its medieval jewel, as the poet Alfonso Gatto called it. The urban structure is medieval indeed, developed on the original roman one. The maze of narrow streets and little squares has in its inside ancient palaces, shops and Norman or Lombard churches.
According to the tradition, the founders of the Schola Medica Salernitana were a Latin (Salernus), a Greek (Pontus), an Arabic (Adela) and a Jew (Helinus) and this reflects the openness of the School of Salerno. Although it was dipped into a Latin cultural background, it was open to Eastern knowledge.
At the beginning of the XIVth century doctor Matteo Silvatico set up a botanical garden connected to the Schola Medica Salernitana, within the area Plaium montis in Salerno, just outside the medioeval wall of Arechi castle. The garden was behind the creek Fusandola, along the verdant street that arrives at the Arechi Castlerouting from the lower part of the town, to the extant terrace gardens.
The foundation of the Roberto Papi Museum in the city of Salerno has a strong cultural and historical value which blends in perfectly with the local formation founded on the presence of the Salerno Medical School. Despite there being no close chronological link, the presence of the Museum considerably enriches any cultural-historical itinerary made up of roads, museums, and significant places such as the Minerva Gardens which take us from the Western world’s most famous source of medical science – The Salerno Medical School – to the modern collections (17th – 18th centuries) of medical history and the history of surgical instruments held in the new Robert Papi Museum.
The Etrusco-Sabellian archaeological site of Fratte bears a fundamental witness of the pre-Roman settlements in the actual city of Salerno, also attested in the Neolithic period. The archaeological site, unique in its kind in the province of Salerno, is in the north-east outskirts of the city along the Irno River, in the area now called Rione Fratte, whose ancient centre once was on the tuff hill on the left side of the river.
One of the most charming views of Salerno’s gulf is surely the one from Forte La Carnale, in Via Torrione. Built in 1563 near river Irno outpouring, it was in a strategic position, far away from the city centre of that time. It was part of a defence system made of towers, realised to defend the city from enemy attacks (the name maybe derives from a Saracen slaughter).
Salerno's Museo Archeologico Provinciale is one of the most interesting regional topographical museums. The finds stored in the museum, hosted in the historical structure of San Benedetto situated in the heart of the city's old town, represent a precious witness of the different civilisations who built Salerno's history. The museum offers a rich collection of documents dating back to the Middle Ages, regarding several populations as this land has always been, due to its position, a melting pot of different cultures.
Salerno is the most expansive district of Southern Italy. It has a mild climate and it can be considered as a tourist navel laying down the Tyrrhenian coast among the striking 
The majestic Norman Dome of Saint Matthew is located in the core of the 
At sunset, walking in the 
The old town is 
According to the tradition, the founders of the Schola Medica Salernitana were a Latin (Salernus), a Greek (Pontus), an Arabic (Adela) and a Jew (Helinus) and this reflects the openness of the School of 
At the beginning of the XIVth century doctor Matteo Silvatico set up a botanical garden connected to the 
The foundation of the Roberto Papi Museum in the city of Salerno has a strong cultural and historical value which blends in perfectly with the local formation founded on the presence of the Salerno Medical School. Despite there being no close chronological link, the presence of the Museum considerably enriches any cultural-historical itinerary made up of roads, museums, and significant places such as the Minerva Gardens which take us from the Western world’s most famous source of medical science – The Salerno Medical School – to the modern collections (17th – 18th centuries) of medical history and the history of surgical instruments held in the new Robert Papi Museum.
The Etrusco-Sabellian archaeological site of Fratte bears a fundamental witness of the pre-Roman settlements in the actual city of 
One of the most charming views of Salerno’s gulf is surely the one from Forte La Carnale, in Via Torrione. Built in 1563 near river Irno outpouring, it was in a strategic position, far away from the city centre of that time. It was part of a defence system made of towers, realised to defend the city from enemy attacks (the name maybe derives from a Saracen slaughter).
Salerno's Museo Archeologico Provinciale is one of the most interesting regional topographical museums. The finds stored in the museum, hosted in the historical structure of San Benedetto situated in the heart of the city's old town, represent a precious witness of the different civilisations who built Salerno's history. The museum offers a rich collection of documents dating back to the Middle Ages, regarding several populations as this land has always been, due to its position, a melting pot of different cultures.
