THE TOPONYM SALERNUM
The toponym Salernum, rather than from the traditional "salum", that is sea, derives more probably from the prelatin hydronymy base "sal", that is channel, watercourse, or, rather, marsh (Sal-ernum, place of marshes, once existing near the it costs). Regarding the origin of the name, among other hypotheses, Antonio Mazza wrote that Patriarch Noè came twice to Italy, and the second time he lived there for thirty-three years; that falling in love with the waters of the Irno river, he ordered his eldest son to embellish its right bank with a city; that out of devout obedience Sem threw the first stone and, after several years, Salt son of Arfaxad, and great-grandson of Noè, accomplished the noble city, giving it his name coupled to the Irno. Thus removing the contradiction between the acts of SS. Martiri Fortunato, Gaio e Ante, and the name Salerno: Sale, Mazza says, "filium Arfaxad, Noe pronepotem Salernum condidisse, illique nomen dedisse: nec contradiclionem im...