Salerno has very ancient origins, dating back to the greek age, so flourishing was the town in the Middle Ages that Robert Guiscard made it the capital of his Duchy in 1077. It was this social and cultural environment that saw the foundation of the oldest university in Europe, the Salerno School of Medicine.
Another building also rises above the city and has become its symbol; this is the Cathedral,
your tourguide will not miss to show and to guide you into this architectural masterpiece of the middle age, built by Robert Guiscard in 1079 and consecrated by Pope Gregory VII, with its lion doorway opening up onto a splendid portico.The nave and aisles were transformed into the Baroque style in the eighteenth century. The visitor must see the large Byzantine mosaics, the splendid baroque crypt, and the treasury with the silver statue of Saint Matthew.
In more modem times Salerno is best remembered for the Allied troops landing on its beaches, during the second world war.
To the east of Salerno, after the headlands of Pontecagnano, Battipaglia and Eboli, is Paestum, which is one of the most important italian archeological sites . Here a guided tour of about an hour and half will take you in some of the best preserved Greek ruins, architecture and monuments, such as the Temple of Poseidon (Neptune),the temple of Ceres and the Basilica, dating from the 6th Century.
In the museum you can admire the Tomb of the Dive a magnificent example of Greek painting, representing a funeral banquet. The tomb depicts a young man diving into the water.