Arechi Castle

Based on texts by Strabone and Livio, De Angelis traced the castle back to the classical age and M.Fiore proposed the same dating again, asserting that in the third century Rome fortified Salerno, formerly its colony, with a castle-Castrum-erected on top of Mount Bonadies "good morning", so-called because - being the highest part of the city - at dawn the sun rising from the east was the first to illuminate the summit. The medieval castle of Salerno contains three centuries of Lombard civilization (from the eighth to the eleventh century).

The results of the archaeological investigations in the perimeter of the Turris major have revealed that the oldest construction phase dates back to the Gothic-Byzantine period. Arechi II, a Lombard prince who moved the capital of the duchy from Benevento to Salerno, chose the pre-existing fortress as the fulcrum of his new capital, located 300 meters above sea level on the top of Mount Bonadies. Arechi raised and modified the ancient walls on pre-existing fortifications and built a castle "by nature and impregnable art, not being in Italy a fortress more equipped with it". In fact, on the Salerno hill there had been, already in previous centuries, a generic presence dating back to Roman times and evidenced by various archaeological finds and ceramic fragments. For Arechi II, therefore, it was only necessary to strengthen the manor, and insert it into a more articulated urban defensive system.

To the north-west stands the watchtower called the "Bastille" to highlight the validity of the defense system. In the most prominent part there are a series of towers arranged around the central body and connected by crenellated walls and drawbridges. In later times, extensions were added to increase the efficiency and functionality of the services. The trend of this fortification could also allow a small number of defenders to assume a dominant position during the retreat towards the pigeon-holed summit, in the event that the opponents had penetrated inside the urban enclosure.

This is an exemplification of the Middle Byzantine defense mechanism, normally used for cities located at the foot of a hill. In 1077 the “Castello di Arechi” was stolen from Gisulfo II, the last Longobard prince of Salerno to become a Norman stronghold, functional to the penetration of the Nordic knights in the southern lands. Beniamino da Tutela (the Navarrese Jew Benjamin bar Jonah), in his Sefer Massa'ot or Book of travels, recalls how, in the 12th century, Salerno was "surrounded by walls in the part facing the earth, while the other part is on the shores of the sea; on top of the hill there is a well-equipped castle ". Later, the “Castello di Arechi” became an important element in the Aragonese defensive chessboard, only to gradually lose importance with the changing techniques of warfare. It was almost completely abandoned in the 19th century.