Centola between Village History, Coast and Cilento Cuisine
Accommodation in Centola
Centola combines a historic centre with stories from Cilento, a traditional speciality and a varied coastal landscape. For you, its appeal lies in the alternation between old neighbourhoods, religious buildings, cultural heritage, regional cuisine and nature.
File:Accesso al Borgo Medievale di San Severino di Centola.jpg
Photo: Giu Pepis via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Historic Centre and Local History
Rione Vallone or San Giocondo is the oldest part of Centola’s historic centre, where the town originated. The historic centre also includes Rione Grancella with the Piazzetta del Rosario and a bell tower above it, which was built towards the end of the 9th century. A street ends at the small Piazzetta del Padreterno; from there, a panorama opens up over the Lambro Valley.
Centola’s origins are also connected with a traditional account: according to this tradition, one hundred survivors fled into the hills, founded a new settlement at the foot of Monte Fontanelle and named the place after their number, “Centula”. The ancient village of San Severino di Centola has medieval origins; its formation is dated to the 10th to 11th century.
Church, Museum and Material Culture
The Chiesa San Nicola di Mira was built around the beginning of the 17th century and features a pronounced Baroque style. Inside are frescoes and altars from the 18th and 19th centuries. After restoration work due to structural instability, the church was reopened for worship in 2014.
The Museo delle testimonianze e della memoria is housed in one wing of Centola’s former school building. Its interiors preserve selected, catalogued testimonies of the area’s history, arranged by subject area. Material culture is conveyed through work tools from earlier times. In this way, the museum supplements local history with tangible traces of everyday life in the past.
Cilento Cuisine with Its Own Distinctive Character
Cicola del Cilento is still produced in Centola as part of a traditional practice of home slaughtering and pork processing. In Centola, this traditional preparation commonly also includes pieces of mandarin and/or orange peel. The ingredient gives the regional speciality a clear connection to the local food culture.
Coast, Palinuro and Landscape
Along the coast of the municipality of Centola, a series of defensive towers was built between 1550 and 1600. In the cave complex of Capo Palinuro, the Grotta Azzurra is the largest and best-known cave; it has sulphurous hydrothermal springs. The Antiquarium di Palinuro is located on a coastal slope directly beside an attractive bay in the village of Ficocella.
The municipality of Centola lies within the Parco nazionale del Cilento e del Vallo di Diano. For a hike in Palinuro, the Sentiero della Primula starts and ends at Spiaggia delle Saline. The Borgo San Severino can be reached via a staircase that leads up the mountain from a small car park at the entrance. If you would like to broaden your orientation in the area, another access point leads you to San Severino.
For the higher-level travel overview: Salerno.
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