GOLFO DI SALERNO

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...

Much has been written about the foundation of Salerno "a little above the sea", without however having certain proofs to support the various theories. Locally Salerno was born after. After Paestum (around 600 BC), after Nuceria (6th century BC), after Vietri, after Pontecagnano (between the 9th and 8th centuries BC) MAP. So the history of the city can be read only under the lens of different previous circumstances. We too will try to give our interpretation, starting from some assumptions: With all probability there were  -in the same area- italic villages and hamlets called "Salernum" older than the Roman castrum and oppidum; the Vietri/Salerno area is particularly favored by an excellent geographical position, which allowed it, in ancient times, to dominate the trade that took place in the gulf between Campania and Lucania on the sea routes connecting the Levantine markets and those of the western Mediterranean, and then ensured them; the historical city extends f...