Deep-dive

Identity: Saint Matthew, the Medical School, the Norman cathedral

The patron saint is Matthew the Apostle, whose remains lie in the crypt of the cathedral commissioned by Robert Guiscard; on 21 September a procession carries the statues of the city's saints through the centre. Salerno ties its identity to the Salerno Medical School and to the Lombard principality, of which Arechi Castle remains.

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Saint Matthew and the 21 September feast

Saint Matthew, apostle and evangelist, is Salerno's patron saint: his remains are kept in the cathedral crypt. On 21 September, after the pontifical mass in the cathedral, the procession carries through the centre the statues of Saint Matthew and of the other saints venerated in the city — Saint Joseph, Saint Gregory VII, Saint Ante, Saint Fortunatus and Saint Gaius — along via Duomo, via dei Mercanti and corso Vittorio Emanuele as far as the Teatro Verdi, with a stop in piazza Cavour for the blessing of the sea. In the preceding days the saint's statue is enthroned in the cathedral.

The Salerno Medical School

The University of Salerno traces the beginning of learning in the city to the eighth century, with the birth of the Salerno Medical School. According to the Ministry of Culture, in the years after 1000 the School was a centre of medical knowledge influential across Western Europe, with teaching drawn from classical and Arabic sources. The Virtual Museum of the Salerno Medical School, in via dei Mercanti, tells its history and is run by the Fondazione Scuola Medica Salernitana.

Lombards and Normans

Arechi Castle has a first building phase dating from the Gothic-Byzantine period and was enlarged and fortified by the Lombard prince Arechi II; the cathedral was commissioned by the Norman Robert Guiscard. The historic centre, damaged by the 1980 earthquake, has been restored while keeping its medieval layout.

Population

City figurePeriod: Jan 1, 2025Validsample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Popolazione residente: bilancio demografico (dataflow 22_315, DCIS_POPORESBIL1)

126,000people

Foreign residents, share of population

City figurePeriod: Jan 1, 2025Estimatesample unknown

Source: ISTAT – Stranieri residenti al 1° gennaio (dataflow 29_7, DCIS_POPSTRRES1)

4.4 %