Salerno Cathedral, Romanesque cathedral in Salerno, Italy
Salerno Cathedral is a basilica from the Norman period in the heart of the old quarter. The bell tower rises 56 meters (about 184 feet) and carries eight large bronze bells from different centuries, while small arcades and Arab-Norman decoration enliven the outer wall.
Roberto Guiscardo began construction in 1076 and Pope Gregory VII consecrated the building in 1084 during his flight to Salerno. The cathedral replaced an older church and became a symbol of Norman power in southern Italy.
The shrine of Saint Matthew draws pilgrims from across the region and sits in the lower church beneath the main altar. The so-called manna, a drop of liquid that once emerged from the tomb, was considered a sign of divine favor for centuries and was collected in small phials and distributed to the faithful.
The bronze door at the entrance comes from Constantinople and displays 56 panels with biblical scenes visible even from a distance. A broad stone stairway leads through the courtyard up to the portal, flanked by two marble lions originally from Roman times.
The courtyard with its colonnaded arcades is the only fully preserved atrium of its kind in all of Italy. Roman sarcophagi line the side walls and tell of the long layering of eras in this place.
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