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The monumental complex of S. Peter at the Court in Salerno, consists of the hypogeum - Chapel of St. Anne, the bell tower the courtroom and the upper hall of representation from the Church of St. Peter at the Court (Palatine Chapel), dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. Duke-Prince Arechis II founded it during the Lombard age in the 8th century AD, during the time span between 758 and 774. It is a unique example in Europe of preservation of standing original walls of Lombard civil architecture.
The monumental complex of S. Peter at the Court in Salerno, consists of the hypogeum - Chapel of St. Anne, the bell tower the courtroom and the upper hall of representation from the Church of St. Peter at the Court (Palatine Chapel), dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. Duke-Prince Arechis II founded it during the Lombard age in the 8th century AD, during the time span between 758 and 774. It is a unique example in Europe of preservation of standing original walls of Lombard civil architecture.
The area where the Palatium was built had been occupied in the Roman period by a thermal bath of the Flavian-Trajan era (1st-2nd cent. AD). The groundwater of the historic centre is fed by two important streams: the Rafastia and the Fusandola. The Rafastia is the river that feeds the ancient frigidarium of S. Pietro a Corte. In late antiquity the structures, long abandoned due to flooding, were partly re-used as a place of Christian worship with an attached burial ground that returned inscriptions dating from the 5th to the 7th century AD. In the 8th century, in order to build the Palatium, the vaults of the thermal building were demolished, and inside the hall and its early Christian burial forepart were built powerful pillars and half-pillars designed to hold the overlying floor of the hall of representation of the Church (Palatine Chapel).
The area where the Palatium was built had been occupied in the Roman period by a thermal bath of the Flavian-Trajan era (1st-2nd cent. AD). The groundwater of the historic centre is fed by two important streams: the Rafastia and the Fusandola. The Rafastia is the river that feeds the ancient frigidarium of S. Pietro a Corte. In late antiquity the structures, long abandoned due to flooding, were partly re-used as a place of Christian worship with an attached burial ground that returned inscriptions dating from the 5th to the 7th century AD. In the 8th century, in order to build the Palatium, the vaults of the thermal building were demolished, and inside the hall and its early Christian burial forepart were built powerful pillars and half-pillars designed to hold the overlying floor of the hall of representation of the Church (Palatine Chapel).
The monumental complex has five main layers:
The monumental complex has five main layers:
• Roman baths (1st-2nd cent. AD);
• Roman baths (1st-2nd cent. AD);
• Building of early Christian worship, with an adjoining burial ground (5th-7th cent. AD);
• Building of early Christian worship, with an adjoining burial ground (5th-7th cent. AD);
• Throne hall and private chapel of the palace of the Lombard period (second half of the 8th century AD);
• Throne hall and private chapel of the palace of the Lombard period (second half of the 8th century AD);
• The Church of St. Peter 'at the Court' with its phases and the Romanesque frescoes (from the 12th century).
• The Church of St. Peter 'at the Court' with its phases and the Romanesque frescoes (from the 12th century).
• The medieval public palace: during the 13th century, the building was also the site of the meetings of Parliament and in it was held the ceremony of conferring the degrees of the Salerno Medical School.
• The medieval public palace: during the 13th century, the building was also the site of the meetings of Parliament and in it was held the ceremony of conferring the degrees of the Salerno Medical School.
In the alluvial layer were placed the burials of an ecclesia built in the thermal environments and frequented over the centuries 5th-7th from the various Socrates, Albulus, Teodenanda, Eutychia, Christians, therefore, of different ethnicity: Greek, Gothic, Roman.
In the alluvial layer were placed the burials of an ecclesia built in the thermal environments and frequented over the centuries 5th-7th from the various Socrates, Albulus, Teodenanda, Eutychia, Christians, therefore, of different ethnicity: Greek, Gothic, Roman.
The "Chronicon Salernitanum" bears witness to a bell tower erected by Prince Guaimar II around 922 AD. The present Romanesque bell tower that stands on the north side of the church belongs to a period later than the 10th century, as it was established based on stratigraphic relationships with the other surviving structures and quotas of the ancient roadways. Against the north wall of the complex, the small chapel dedicated to St. Anne, adjoining the Hypogeum has a 16th century painting representing the Virgin and Child with Saints as well as other frescoes on the north face and the vault devoted to the life of the Virgin attributed to Filippo Pennino, of the second half of the 18th century.
The "Chronicon Salernitanum" bears witness to a bell tower erected by Prince Guaimar II around 922 AD. The present Romanesque bell tower that stands on the north side of the church belongs to a period later than the 10th century, as it was established based on stratigraphic relationships with the other surviving structures and quotas of the ancient roadways. Against the north wall of the complex, the small chapel dedicated to St. Anne, adjoining the Hypogeum has a 16th century painting representing the Virgin and Child with Saints as well as other frescoes on the north face and the vault devoted to the life of the Virgin attributed to Filippo Pennino, of the second half of the 18th century.
During the building of the chapel of the Lombard Duke’s palace, the vaults of the underlying space were eliminated and a loft was made, where colored marble “carpets” coming from buildings of the Imperial age were put. “Comacine” masters who worked at the Lombard court expertly assembled the pieces of red porphyry, green serpentine, bardiglio, cipollino and other types of polychrome marble and some of these are still today a unique exemplar of the early medieval decorative floor review.
During the building of the chapel of the Lombard Duke’s palace, the vaults of the underlying space were eliminated and a loft was made, where colored marble “carpets” coming from buildings of the Imperial age were put. “Comacine” masters who worked at the Lombard court expertly assembled the pieces of red porphyry, green serpentine, bardiglio, cipollino and other types of polychrome marble and some of these are still today a unique exemplar of the early medieval decorative floor review.
Even the apse of the church was covered with a marble mosaic made up of several pieces of glass painted in gold, according to an old technique of the Roman tradition, also known by the glassmaker masters of the 8th century.
Even the apse of the church was covered with a marble mosaic made up of several pieces of glass painted in gold, according to an old technique of the Roman tradition, also known by the glassmaker masters of the 8th century.
B/C - From San Pietro a Corte to Chiesa di Sant'Andrea de Lama - 2 min
B/C - From San Pietro a Corte to Chiesa di Sant'Andrea de Lama - 2 min
Leaving behind San Pietro a Corte, we take Via Municipio Vecchio and, passing Piazza Sedile del Campo, turn right to go up alley porta Rateprandi, immediately meeting the church of Sant'Andrea de Lama.
Leaving behind San Pietro a Corte, we take Via Municipio Vecchio and, passing Piazza Sedile del Campo, turn right to go up alley porta Rateprandi, immediately meeting the church of Sant'Andrea de Lama.
Other places to visit nearby
Other places to visit nearby
Palazzo Fruscione - The Palace is located in the oldest part of the historic center of Salerno. In all stylistic probability it was a palace built by Norman princes. The building has two distinct construction phases, the first dating back to the full Norman age, the second, the result of an elevation, to the period between the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century. The construction is partly based on the ruins of a thermal complex from the imperial era. Its owner was probably the Salerno doctor Giovanni da Procida. During the restoration work of the years of 1910, traces of masonry were found that refer to a thermal complex of the imperial period, mosaics and frescoes of the II century. The room with the mosaic, whose walls are covered with relief decoration of stucco and paintings, belonged to the Roman baths built between the 1st and 2nd century AD. Inside the excavation, two tombs were found which returned the human remains of two adult males aged between 30 and 40. With the recent restoration work of Palazzo Fruscione new architectural remains have been discovered enriching the series of bichrome medieval tarsias known in Salerno; the results of a stratigraphic analysis allowed to isolate the parts forming the current building: some Norman structures in the West, the Angevin total renovation in the South and the part added at the end of 13th - beginning of the 14th century in the East. The remains of the 11th century confirm that the area, next to the ruins of the palace of Arechis II, was occupied by aristocratic palaces in the Norman era too. Then the building was modified several times as the vertical stratigraphy and the archaeological excavation show. This richness of archeological traces confirms that the area was considered very important in the medieval and modern city.
Palazzo Fruscione - The Palace is located in the oldest part of the historic center of Salerno. In all stylistic probability it was a palace built by Norman princes. The building has two distinct construction phases, the first dating back to the full Norman age, the second, the result of an elevation, to the period between the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century. The construction is partly based on the ruins of a thermal complex from the imperial era. Its owner was probably the Salerno doctor Giovanni da Procida. During the restoration work of the years of 1910, traces of masonry were found that refer to a thermal complex of the imperial period, mosaics and frescoes of the II century. The room with the mosaic, whose walls are covered with relief decoration of stucco and paintings, belonged to the Roman baths built between the 1st and 2nd century AD. Inside the excavation, two tombs were found which returned the human remains of two adult males aged between 30 and 40. With the recent restoration work of Palazzo Fruscione new architectural remains have been discovered enriching the series of bichrome medieval tarsias known in Salerno; the results of a stratigraphic analysis allowed to isolate the parts forming the current building: some Norman structures in the West, the Angevin total renovation in the South and the part added at the end of 13th - beginning of the 14th century in the East. The remains of the 11th century confirm that the area, next to the ruins of the palace of Arechis II, was occupied by aristocratic palaces in the Norman era too. Then the building was modified several times as the vertical stratigraphy and the archaeological excavation show. This richness of archeological traces confirms that the area was considered very important in the medieval and modern city.
Chiesa di Santa Rita - The Angevin church dedicated to the cult of Santa Rita da Cascia, which we see at the larghetto in front of the steps of San Pietro a Corte, was the ancient Sant'Antonio di Vienne, dependence of San Pietro a Corte itself, whose first certain information dates back to 1372. The building presents externally with an order of pilasters with volute capitals culminating in a triangular tympanum. The interior consists of a rectangular hall with a single nave separated from the transept by a round arch. The vertical masonry structures support a pitched roof hidden by a barrel vault (replicated in the presbytery). The sacristy preserves a Roman funerary urn transformed into a sink.
Chiesa di Santa Rita - The Angevin church dedicated to the cult of Santa Rita da Cascia, which we see at the larghetto in front of the steps of San Pietro a Corte, was the ancient Sant'Antonio di Vienne, dependence of San Pietro a Corte itself, whose first certain information dates back to 1372. The building presents externally with an order of pilasters with volute capitals culminating in a triangular tympanum. The interior consists of a rectangular hall with a single nave separated from the transept by a round arch. The vertical masonry structures support a pitched roof hidden by a barrel vault (replicated in the presbytery). The sacristy preserves a Roman funerary urn transformed into a sink.
Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Barbuti - The Church was built in an unspecified year thanks to the will of the Lombard couple Dauferio. This is testified by an inscription placed on the main facade of the church above the portal. Given that the Norman conquest of Longobard Salerno is dated to 1076, and that in any case the Lombard names in Salerno still had to survive for several decades, it can be deduced that the foundation of the Church by the Dauferio reasonably does not go beyond the 11th century. The church originally consisted of three naves, replaced by the single nave plan that still exists. On 19 September 1860, Archbishop Salomone ordered that the parish seat of Santa Maria dei Barbuti be moved to the church of Carmine Nuovo. This, in fact, which was the former church of the Gesù, now called the Santissima Addolorata, had remained without worship after the renewed suppression of the company of Jesus. The restoration involved the elevated part of the building, bringing to light, on the right side of the hall, inserted in a pointed arch, a brick wall with interwoven arches (according to the description of the restoration supervisor). The wall includes a passageway to the area of the ancient sacristy. At the bottom of the church, on the left side of the nave, an ancient passage to the north and traces of a staircase, perhaps access to underground rooms, have also been identified and brought to light.
Chiesa di Santa Maria dei Barbuti - The Church was built in an unspecified year thanks to the will of the Lombard couple Dauferio. This is testified by an inscription placed on the main facade of the church above the portal. Given that the Norman conquest of Longobard Salerno is dated to 1076, and that in any case the Lombard names in Salerno still had to survive for several decades, it can be deduced that the foundation of the Church by the Dauferio reasonably does not go beyond the 11th century. The church originally consisted of three naves, replaced by the single nave plan that still exists. On 19 September 1860, Archbishop Salomone ordered that the parish seat of Santa Maria dei Barbuti be moved to the church of Carmine Nuovo. This, in fact, which was the former church of the Gesù, now called the Santissima Addolorata, had remained without worship after the renewed suppression of the company of Jesus. The restoration involved the elevated part of the building, bringing to light, on the right side of the hall, inserted in a pointed arch, a brick wall with interwoven arches (according to the description of the restoration supervisor). The wall includes a passageway to the area of the ancient sacristy. At the bottom of the church, on the left side of the nave, an ancient passage to the north and traces of a staircase, perhaps access to underground rooms, have also been identified and brought to light.
Fontana dei pesci - The Fish Fountain is a monument attributed to Luigi Vanvitelli and located in the square of the Sedile del Campo. The existence of a fountain in Largo Campo does not necessarily have to be identified with the current one. The first mention of its existence, in fact, is found in a document of the Church of Sant'Andrea de Lavina of 1639. In 1692 it is remembered by Pietro del Pezzo in the path of the first procession of the silver statue of San Matteo. According to these sources it should be dated at least to the beginning of the seventeenth century, however the set of elements, which today constitute it, denounce a greater constructive articulation. Already the architectural structure shows a chronologically different invoice with respect to the water mouths of the masks and the tub, but also of the metal dolphins, which in turn are further successive. Starting from these considerations, it can be said that the rounded basin and the two masks of senile heads crowned with vegetable garlands, as river gods, can be considered original parts dating back to between the 16th and 17th centuries. This first fountain should correspond to a water channeling policy initiated by the city municipality, which has been known since at least the mid-seventeenth century. It is in correspondence with the flow of spring waters from the mountain, which in the section descending from via Tasso retains the medieval name of Lama.
Fontana dei pesci - The Fish Fountain is a monument attributed to Luigi Vanvitelli and located in the square of the Sedile del Campo. The existence of a fountain in Largo Campo does not necessarily have to be identified with the current one. The first mention of its existence, in fact, is found in a document of the Church of Sant'Andrea de Lavina of 1639. In 1692 it is remembered by Pietro del Pezzo in the path of the first procession of the silver statue of San Matteo. According to these sources it should be dated at least to the beginning of the seventeenth century, however the set of elements, which today constitute it, denounce a greater constructive articulation. Already the architectural structure shows a chronologically different invoice with respect to the water mouths of the masks and the tub, but also of the metal dolphins, which in turn are further successive. Starting from these considerations, it can be said that the rounded basin and the two masks of senile heads crowned with vegetable garlands, as river gods, can be considered original parts dating back to between the 16th and 17th centuries. This first fountain should correspond to a water channeling policy initiated by the city municipality, which has been known since at least the mid-seventeenth century. It is in correspondence with the flow of spring waters from the mountain, which in the section descending from via Tasso retains the medieval name of Lama.
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