Agropoli
For those coming down the western coast, past the impressive ancient ruins of the city of Paestum, Agropoli can be seen as the gateway to Cilento. Once you enter this area, you can discover a world where history, culture, traditions and natural beauty mix together.The very name tells us about its Greek origin, Agropoli meaning 'high city' : 'akròs' means 'high' and 'polis' means 'town'.
In fact, there are archaeological finds proving that the place was settled already in Neolithic times, but it was with the Greek , who started colonizing the area in the VII century B.C., and a real town was created. It exploited the highly defensive place on top of the promontory; the nearby mouth of the river Testene in the natural bay was used for sea trade also by the nearby city of Poseidonia.. This high place was called Petra and the Greeks built there a temple in honour of Artemis, the goddess of hunting.
Later there was a settlement that we call the historical centre today, which is accessible walking up a rare specimen of stairs made of large and low stone steps, that still keeps the original form. On top of the stairs there is the impressive original gate with the five battlements and the stone crest of the Sanseverino family.
At the highest point of the historical centre stands the castle, that was built by the Greeks from Costatinopolis (or Byzantines) in the VI century A.D. They also fortified the town by fencing it with stone walls and made it a stronghold during their war against the Goths. Over the years there has been a lot of restoration and its shape today only in part keeps the structure wanted by Alphonse of Aragon (XV century). In the shape of a triangle and with a large, deep moat, the castle can be visited by walking on the walls connecting the three large big towers, wherefrom one can enjoy the view of the whole Gulf of Salerno.
A similar splendid view can be seen from the square in front of the Church of Our Lady of Costantinopolis dating back to the VI century. The legend says that the Church was built when the image of the Virgin Mary was found awash by the sea shore left by the Saracens running away with it after a raid; as they could not sail away, they thought it was because of the sacred image they were trying to take away with them.
On July 24 every year, there is a festival dedicated to Saint Mary of Costatinopolis commemorating this event. To defend the country against the pirate raids many watch towers were built starting from the XIII century all along the southern coast. In Agropoli there are two more of these towers: the tower near the old convent of St. Francis and the tower in San Marco.
Between two hills tourist can find the splendid Trentova beach. They say that two religious events took place there: St Francis spoke to the fish from the namesake rock and it is also said that the apostle Paul landed on this shore.
The picturesque historical commemoration of the 1629 Turkish attack to the town is re-enacted during the first half of July using seven galleys and two brigs.
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