AGROPOLI

General information: 
Province: Salerno

The promontory on which Agropoli stands has seen the presence of man since Neolithic times.
The Greeks gave the promontory the Greek name Petra and built a temple on it, dedicated to Artemis, the goddess of hunting. It has been established that in Roman times, east of the promontory and to the right of the river Testene, a seaside town called Ercula developed and flourished between the 1st cent. B.C.,and the 5th cent. A.D. Meanwhile, the harbour of neighbouring Poseidonia (by then renamed Paestum by the Romans) became progressively silted up by the process of coastal bradyseism.
Then, in the 6th cent. A.D., the Byzantines needed a secure, well-protected harbour south of Salerno, so they fortified this site, calling it Akropolis, which means "high town".
 

Agropoli remained in the hands of the Byzantines until 882, when the town fell to the Saracens. They turned it into a formidable stronghold, eventually, in 915, they were driven and Agropoli came back under the jurisdiction of the bishops, who had established their see in (old) Capaccio during this period and it was possessed by them until the early decades of the 15th century.

Agropoli and its feudal lands were held by the Sanseverino family until 1552 and after that, Agropoli passed to the Aragon.
Agropoli was a particular target of raids from North Africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. On 1630 , a strong band of men from surrounding Cilento helped the citizens of Agropoli to repel an attack by 700 Turkish pirates.
During the nineteenth century, Agropoli began to expand outside the medieval walls, but the old town has remained intact, together with most of the surrounding defensive walls and the seventh-century entrance gate.

The Angevin-Aragonese castle, which was built on 6th cent. Byzantine foundations, still stands on top of the promontory.

To the west of the modern tourist harbour, there is another small promontory, on which the coastal tower of S.Francesco (16th cent.) stands next to the much altered remains of the convent of the same name.

DISTANCES FROM AGROPOLI
- Rome kms 315;
- Naples kms 105;
- Salerno km 51;
- Pompeii kms 75;
- Amalfi kms 75;
- Ravello kms 80;
- Positano kms 95;
- Sorrento kms 100;
- Vesuvio kms 95;
- Acciaroli kms 32;
- Palinuro kms 68;
- Padula kms 108;
- Grotte di Pertosa kms 73;
- Grotte Castelcivita kms 43;
- Capri (1 ora e 50 min. from Salerno porto)