Cilento south coast

The Cilento, which together with the Vallo di Diano it is part of western Lucania,^[1][2] is a mountainous area of ​​the Campania in province of Salerno, in the southern part of the region, declared by’UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Until the creation of the Cilento National Park, Vallo di Diano and Alburni the Cilento area was identified among the villages at the foot of the Monte della Stella (1 131 m) that is part of the Barony of Cilento of the main branch of the Sanseverino then Princes of Salerno , cis – Alentum on this side of the Alento river but seen from the capital Naples; then at the end of the 19th century the toponym attracted the area of ​​the former barony of Novi ( Vallo della Lucania and its neighbors) east of the River , therefore that area is distinct from the entire national park and takes the name of “Ancient Cilento”.For objective reasons it was decided to extend the Cilento to a large part of the coastal and southern internal province of Salerno. In ancient times the Cilento was part of the Lucania (together with the Vallo di Diano and the gulf of Policastro). Signs of it remained in the dialect with its accents spoken in the villages on the slopes of Monte Stella come Omignano, Star Cilento, Sessa Cilento,in gastronomic traditions and toponymy (Vallo della Lucania, Athena Lucanexternal entities

History

Mythology

Cilento has inspired poets and singers for millennia. Many of the myths greeks and Romans were set on its shores. The most famous myth is that of the island of the sirens, nell’Odyssey. Those evil creatures that, according to Homer, they radiated a song that drove the passing sailors mad, leading them to crash with the boats on the rocks. The islet that inspired the Cantor of antiquity is probably the one in front of Lycose Tip, south near Castellabate. In front of its sea, Ulysses had himself tied to the mainmast to listen to that deceptive song. Another important myth is that of Palinuro, the helmsman of Aeneas. During the journey to the coasts of the Lazio fell into the sea with the rudder. He clung to the wreck and for three days engaged in an exhausting fight against the raging waves. But when he was finally about to escape to safety on the shore, he was brutally killed by the inhabitants of those places: since then that promontory took the name of Capo Palinuro. Another myth is that of Jason and the Argonauts who, once you have escaped from Colchide, to ingratiate themselves with the goddess Hera they stopped at her sanctuary at the mouth of the river Sele (the current Santuario di Hera Argive).

From prehistoric times to the great Greek philosophers

We leave the legend and the power of the imagination for the true story of man, which in this land has found hospitality for at least half a million years. Traces of its presence are evident from the middle Paleolithic to the Neolithic, up to the metal ages. The first men lived in the coastal caves of Cilento in Camerota, where the remains of hominids were discovered initially classified as a new species, Homo camaerotensis. In Palinuro, where materials from the stone industry were found. In the caves of Castelcivita, in San Giovanni a Piro and in San Marco di Castellabate, where Paleolithic finds were found. In Capaccio and Paestum, where grave goods from the Neolithic age of the local Gaudo civilization have emerged. The discovery of artifacts and tools from the nearby Apulian Tavoliere or from the Lipari islands, Furthermore, they tell us that even then Cilento was a crossroads of trade: ridge routes in the interior put it in contact with other Apennine civilizations (routes of transhumance and trafficking, places of worship and markets); while the sea brought it closer to the Nuragic civilizations, to the Aegean and Mediterranean ones. Then between the seventh and sixth centuries BC. the Greeks arrived. The Sybarites, descendants of the Achaeans, they founded Posidonia: became Paestum in Roman times. In the same period at the hands of the Phocians, from Asia Minor, Elea arose (then it became the Roman Velia): the flourishing Cilento center will host the Eleatic School of philosophy, the architect is Xenophanes in the sixth century BC., and the medical one from which the important one originated Salerno Medical School, mother of modern western medicine. While in Paestum coins continued to be minted, right handed down by the Achaeans (experts in this art), even in Roman times.

World Heritage

The thread of Cilento's history unravels up to the present day, sewing large and small events. Linking Roman events (Cesare Ottaviano Augusto made it a province to raise animals and grow food for the Roman tables), to important medieval facts (the Lombard Principality in Salerno, the advent of the Basilian and Benedictine monks, the birth of the Barony with the Sanseverinos, their revolt in Capaccio in 1246 against Federico II), up to the first ones “uprisings of Cilento” the 1828, with the insurrection against Francis I of Bourbon and his ministers, followed twenty years later by new ones antiborbonic, then to the accession to the unification of Italy which was quickly followed by the years of post-unification banditry.

Traces, memories, monuments, culture, paths linked to this rich history are safeguarded thanks to the Cilento National Park. Since June 1997, Cilento is included in the network of UNESCO-Mab Biosphere Reserves (where Mab stands for “Man and biosphere”): all over the planet (furthermore 80 States) there are about 350 of these particular protected areas, which serve to protect biodiversity and promote development compatible with nature and culture.

In 1998 inserted together with the archaeological sites of Paestum, Velia and the Vallo di Diano, on the World Heritage List.

Soria in Spain, Colony in Greece, Cilento in Italy e Chefchaouen in Morocco, represent the places of Mediterranean diet, entered in the lists of intangible cultural heritage of humanity in November 2010.

In 2010 il Cilento National Park Vallo di Diano and Alburni has been included in the European network of Geoparks.

Geography

Position

The area is limited to the north by the mountain range Alburni e a est dal Vallo di Diano. The name is derived from this side of Alentum (“on this side of the’Breath“), although the river no longer marks its border.

Cultural traditions

Borrowing the concept of genetic heritage from biology, it can be said that, in the Cilento villages, if culture had one it would allign with ancient peasant traditions. Even imported by those Greek colonists who almost reached these shores 3000 Years ago. Obvious examples are in the numerous folkloristic manifestations that have been handed down for centuries in the centers of the Park. This is the case of Casaletto Spartano, where on May 1st groups of begging young men, they go from house to house asking for legumes of all kinds. They are cooked separately and then in the evening in the town square they are prepared all together (13 different types) in a large boiler and seasoned with oil and salt. The villagers take a portion of it as a wish for prosperity and abundance of crops.

This characteristic dish, with some variations, it is consumed throughout the Cilento and in particular in Gulf of Policastro, where is it called “Kitchen“, from the Greek “kykeon” mixture. In the country of Spain (precisely in the hamlet of San Cristoforo) the Cuccìa Festival is set up every year in August, with a parade of period costumes and other folkloristic events; at the height of the evening the traditional dish is served.

The latter is also known in Cicerale where it is called “blinded”, in Castel San Lorenzo and Stio known as “married couples”, in Pellare, Moio, Vallo della Lucania. While in Castellabate the cicci are cooked on the day of the dead. A similar ritual food was pansperm, obtained by mixing all the seeds, present in archaic Greece: the great Plato spoke of it in the Timaeus about the divine action of the universal seed. Traditions related to this dish are also found in other parts of Italy, in particular in Sicily where, the day of Saint Lucia, there was the tradition of going from house to house to receive a little’ of legumes to be cooked in a large cauldron and the dish was served to the poorest.

We also remember the territory of Trentinara, also known as the Cilento terrace. Here in the shadow of Mount Vesule, the traditional takes place every year “Festival of bread and peasant traditions”, particular in the setting up and in the typical local products, with folk dances and songs surrounded by an atmosphere of other times.

In Capaccio Paestum, the door of Cilento ,during the last weekend of July, a major event is organized with the aim of promoting the Cilento area through the enhancement of typical products. The event conceived by a local association is called “Capaccio Door of Cilento” and looks like a gastronomic walk in the city center of Capaccio which sees many Cilento Municipalities as protagonists with their gastronomic traditions, and is completed with the presence of local artists, music and folklore.

Another important example of a wealth of traditions, this time religious, are the rites of the holy week. After having decorated the tombs in churches with wheat, on Good Friday in the Monte Stella area or in “Ancient Cilento” the processions of the “congreghe” o “brotherhoods”, which represent long paths of suffering: “Visit to the tombs” (subbúrchi in Cilentano). Each country has its own. After leaving the brotherhood of Omignano dedicated to Maria SS. of the Rosary, all the lay brotherhoods leave their country already at the first light of day to go to pay homage to the churches of the neighboring countries and only in the evening for the “religious functions” they will go into their own. They wear the classic sais and white hoods with a short cape that changes color depending on the title, guided by the prior and to the rhythm of the blows of a long stick, reciting a long psalm in Latin, they kneel in pairs of two in front of the tomb to receive the chains on their shoulders as a sign of penance. The most evocative moment is the meeting of two brotherhoods at the exit of the churches with the traditional greeting of the priors. After the ceremony they are greeted by the villagers with sweets and wine.

Another typical dish of Cilento and in particular of Palinuro are pizza rolls, often known as the Vivianas, stuffed with a base of tomatoes and mozzarella and stuffed to taste. The typical dish instead, of Marina di Camerota, brought to television by Marina's first restaurateur, and the “ciambotta”, also called, more anciently, “Ciammardola”.

Environment

The mountain group of Cilento is in boards, with main alignment towards l’Apennines, ma, due to the external erosion that has affected it in several senses, it has a complicated and confusing orography. It is made up limestone the Cretaceous and from dolomite, therefore gods occur there karst phenomena. The most important peaks are the Monte Cervati (1 899 m), il Monte Gelbison (o Monte Sacro) (1 705 m), il Monte Bulgheria (1 225 m) that, although surpassed by other peaks, stands out for its isolation.

Cilento has beech and holm oak woods, it is sparsely populated and inaccessible and its major centers are located at a considerable height, also above i 600 m.

National Park

From 1991, following the establishment of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, much of the Cilento area is protected. Approximately 181 000 hectares of territory, 8 mountain communities e 80 common. The institutional headquarters of the park authority is located in the most important center of the area, Vallo della Lucania.

Cilento in culture and art

• During the spring of 1881, the Apulian scholar Cosimo De Giorgi, following the assignment to draw up a geological map of the Cilento area, undertook a long journey in Cilento. The experience accumulated in this expedition was published by the same in 1882, in the book Journey to Cilento (original title: From Salerno to Cilento), which constitutes one of the earliest examples of travel literature.
• In 1828 the Scottish man of letters and humanist Craufurd Tait Ramage made a trip to the Kingdom of the two Sicilies in search of “survivals” Greco-Latin linguistics and culture, during his itinerary Ramage also crossed the coastal part of Cilento which he described in the account of the trip entitled “The nooks and by-ways of Italy. Wandering in search of its ancient Remains and modern superstitions“.
• Cilento and, in particular, the municipality of Castellabate and the location where the film is set welcome to the South (2010), in which the neighboring Perdifumo is also mentioned.
• In the first verse of the song Three colours presented at Sanremo Festival 2011 by the singer Tricarico Cilento is mentioned with reference to “Cilento crescent“.
• The “Marshal Santovito”, character designed by Francesco Guccini e Loriano Macchiavelli, protagonist of a successful series of detective novels, is originally from a small town in the Cilento coast.
• The “Maestro”, main character of the novel The perfect pain winner of the Strega prize 2004, comes from the surroundings of Sapri in Cilento.
• Luigi Alfredo Ricciardi, Commissioner of the Royal Police, created by the Neapolitan writer Maurizio De Giovanni, is originally from Battaglia, currently a hamlet of Casaletto Spartano.
• Cilento and Vallo di Diano was one of the main sets of the film “We believed” by Mario Martone. In particular, the shooting concerned Roscigno Vecchia, Pollica, Castellabate and Camerota.
• From 2017, with the patronage of the Campania Region, of the Province of Salerno, of the Cilento National Park, Vallo di Diano and Alburni and important local cultural organizations, on the initiative of the Municipality of Salento, was established on Cilento National Poetry Award annually awarded to a poet of national importance.^[3]