Padula: to discover the city of Certosa

A bit’ of ancient history…

Padula is a town in the province of Salerno, It located in the Vallo di Diano and is known for its Certosa di San Lorenzo. Its name is derived from Medieval Latin “marsh” which means swamp and ancient effects, in the underlying plain area, This was a swamp.

There are numerous archaeological sites and the most important are the ruins of the ancient Cosilinum, the Hermitage of San Michele to the Grottelle and the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonti, ancient baptistry based on an earlier temple dedicated to the pagan worship.

In the urban structure are numerous elements of both medieval and modern, beginning with the Norman Castle, of which remain the ruins of the tower in the palace garden Padula. Then we still find the terraces along the path of Madonnella and the remains of the wall along the hill of Via Carlo Poerio, the Angevin towers Tepedino home and Marsicotevere house near the Castle.

The modern age and tradition

numerous modern age buildings are also notable, as the Palace Sanseverino or Di Stasio, dell'Auliva Porta, Baron's Palace, Anthony Porta, Palazzo Rienzo and many others.

Padula, Moreover, home to several museums of local interest and national, such as the Provincial Archaeological Museum of Western Lucania, the house-museum of Joe Petrosino, The Stone Museum of Padula, the unusual Museum of the surname and the media Civic Museum.

There are also many religious festivals among which the most important, or the festival in honor of the patron saint San Michele Arcangelo. Other festivals are in honor of the Madonna del Carmine, St. Alphonsus de Liguori and Maria Santissima Assunta, Madonna del Rosario, St. Francis of Assisi, and even the Holy Martyr Lucia.

The painstaking city has been the setting of several films: Once upon a time, The City of the Sun, A Night Full of Rain, Horses are born, e How Wonderful to Die Assassinated.

La Certosa di San Lorenzo

recognized in 1998 UNESCO World Heritage, Certosa di San Lorenzo, also known as Certosa di Padula, Charterhouse is the first born in Campania, anticipating that of San Martino in Naples and San Giacomo in Capri. In its extended surface it consists of three cloisters, a garden, a courtyard and a church and is one of the most impressive Baroque monuments of southern Italy and the largest Carthusian monastery at the national level and among the largest in Europe. Within the complex there is also the provincial archaeological museum of Western Lucania.