“Discover Salerno: the Lombard prince Arechi II and its castle ”

The Arechi Castle is one of the main monuments of Salerno. It is a medieval castle, which takes its name from the Lombard Prince Arechi II, who fortified it at the end of VIII century. Situated at 300 meters above-sea level, the Castle lies on Bonadies hill, giving a wonderful view of the city and the Gulf of Salerno. The oldest building phase, according to some archaeological investigations, dates back to the third century, in the late Roman period.

In 774 the prince Arechi II moved the capital of the Duchy of Benevento to Salerno, considering the strategic position of the city for trading with other regions of the Mediterranean Sea. The castle became the vertex of a triangular defense system, whose walls came down along the slopes of the hill Bonadies.

Under the Norman, Angevin and Aragonese dominions the castle underwent many transformations. In particular, to the Norman-Angevin period belongs the tower called the Bastille, built to ensure the control of the castle from the north and so called because during the XIX century it was wrongly considered a prison.

After a long period of neglect following the unification of Italy, in 1960 the castle was acquired by the Province of Salerno which began the restoration work. Nowadays the castle houses a Multimedia Museum and an Archaeological Museum hosting several finds, such as ancient coins, ceramic wares, glass objects and so on.

Visit Salerno and learn more about its fascinating history with Accademia Italiana!