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CILENTO |
  
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| Cilento, the other "wing" of the Bay of Salerno, has a high rugged coast, pockmarked with caves in which popular tradition sees the lairs of unlikely legendary creatures. Here landed the Greeks and we too, restless travellers, come attracted by the sirens of the archaeological world which is part of the present just as the watermark is part of a bank-note. Of all the signs of the Greek colonies to be seen here, Paestum presents the most important and best preserved examples of sacred architecture in the whole of Magna Graecia (but it is also famous for an important horse race held there). Among the towns founded by the ancient Mediterranean races we can recall Palinuro, linked with the epic of Aeneas and sumptuous nature; Elea, where Parmenides conceived the idea of the entity in perfect equilibrium, "like the mass of a well rounded sphere"; Velia where the beautiful beaches of Ascea Marina and Casalvelino lie close to the archaeological digs, and Punta Licosa, linked with the myth of the siren Leucosia. Someone had the idea of protecting this land so beloved by gds and heroes by creating the Cilento Park, but - as frequently happens - the idea got only as far as choosing the symbol of the park, the rare Primula Palinuri. The final project is a promise for the future. But there is more to the complex picture of Salerno than the "divine" coast or the Greek colonies of Cilento. Nature has more surprises for us inland, in the grandiose Karst scenery of the Monti Alburni, exemplified by the Caves at Pertosa, in the Vallo di Diano. Another strong attractions is the Certosa di San Lorenzo at Padula, one of the most important examples of Carthusian architecture in South Italy; the plan of this grandiose complex, started in 1306, represents the shape of the gridiron on which the martyr Saint Laurence was put to death. It has a spectacular large cloister, rectangular in shape with two orders of arcades comprising 84 arches. Other minor cloisters, the frescoed rooms, the library and the archaeological museum all bear the imprint of majesty and sumptuous beauty.
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