Vietri sul Mare ("Vietri on the Sea";

Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous Epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campanian s ...

: ) is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' in the

province of Salerno The Province of Salerno ( it, Provincia di Salerno) is a province in the Campania region of Italy. __TOC__ Geography The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Battipagli ...

, in the

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

region of southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. It is situated just west of

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

, separated from the

Port of Salerno The Port of Salerno ( it, Porto di Salerno) is a port serving Salerno, southwestern Italy. The port of Salerno, located in the gulf of the Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co ...

by only a harbour wall. The town is known for its polychrome ceramics, a tradition since at least the 15th century, and is considered to be the gateway to the

Amalfi Coast The Amalfi Coast ( it, Costiera amalfitana) is a stretch of coastline in southern Italy overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Gulf of Salerno. It is located south of the Sorrentine Peninsula and north of the Cilentan Coast. Celebrated worldwide ...

. The main landmark is the Church of St. John the Baptist, a late Neapolitan Renaissance style building with a high bell tower. There are numerous buildings displaying ceramics, including the Museo Provinciale della Ceramica in the nearby village of Raito.

Geography

The town is bordered by

Cava de' Tirreni Cava de' Tirreni (; Cilentan: ''A Càva'') is a city and '' comune'' in the region of Campania, Italy, in the province of Salerno, northwest of the town of Salerno. It lies in a richly cultivated valley surrounded by wooded hills, and is a p ...

Cetara Cetera or cetara is a plucked string instrument played in Corsica. It has sixteen, or sometimes eighteen, metal strings, running in paired courses, with a body similar to the mandolin, but larger, and is plucked with a plectrum made of horn o ...

Maiori Maiori (Campanian: ; originally ''Rheginna Maior'') is a town and ''comune'' on the Amalfi coast in the province of Salerno (Campania, Italy). It has been a popular tourist resort since Roman times, with the longest unbroken stretch of beach on ...

and

. The quarter by the sea, named ''Marina di Vietri'' is located to the south of the town. The other hamlets ( it,

frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist era (1922–1943) as ...

) are Albori,

Benincasa ''Benincasa hispida'', the wax gourd, also called ash gourd, white gourd, winter gourd, winter melon, tallow gourd, ash pumpkin, Chinese preserving melon is a vine grown for its very large fruit, eaten as a vegetable when mature. It is the o ...

, Dragonea (including the localities of Iaconti and San Vincenzo) and Molina.

Main sights

The principal church in Vietri sul Mare is the Church of St. John the Baptist, a late Neapolitan Renaissance style building with a high bell tower. A previous church dated from the 10th century. It contains a coffered gold ceiling, a 17th-century marble altar, an alabaster statue of the Saint, and an 11th-century wooden crucifix. The Confraternity of the Annunciation and the Rosary dates to the 17th century and is noted for its facade decorated with pottery. Other notable churches include the 16th century Church of the Madonna delle Grazie in Raito, the Church of Santa Margherita in Albori and the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Benincasa. The Palazzo Solimene was built after World War II by Paolo Soleri, and houses ceramic collections. The Palazzo Taiani is noted for its dovecote tower, which was once used to watch out for Saracens during raids. The nearby village of Raito contains the Museo Provinciale della Ceramica.

Notable people

Antonio Carluccio Antonio Carluccio, OBE OMRI (; 19 April 1937 – 8 November 2017) was an Italian chef, restaurateur and food expert, based in London. He was called "the godfather of Italian gastronomy", with a career of more than 50 years. He is perhaps best re ...

, chef * Massimo D'Amico, artist *Antonio Forcellino, historian *Antonio Savastano, opera singer *Germano Benencase (Benincasa), composer, musician and conductor *Giuseppe Prezzolini, writer, honoured citizen

References

External links

Vietri sul Mare
at Amalfiguide.it Cities and towns in Campania Amalfi Coast {{Campania-geo-stub