Cava de' Tirreni (30/09/2015)

On this day my aunt told me we were going to have lunch at my cousin's grandparents' house in Cava de Tirreni, about 20 minutes from Salerno. We left the house at 12:30 and went to pick my cousin from school and then headed on towards Cava. The day was very nice and quite hot for late september, around 25 degrees celsius. After a really nice and filling lunch I decided to head out and explore the town center. The city center is unique since it feels a lot like a town from the northeast of Italy. That is because the main street is lined with beautiful porticoes on both sides, a very rare thing in the south of Italy. I tried visiting the churches around town though I found out they were mostle closed until 4:30. So I went back to the house and half an hour later, my aunt drove me to see the famous Abbey of Cava de Tirreni. What caught my eye at first was its location: inside a splendid gorge surrounded by forests and surely a place of peace and tranquility. Built around the 12th century, it was nearly fully refurbished in the 18th century, except a few parts such as the cloisters which are still Gothic. The monastery was already closed (it was open only during the morning) but at least I got to see the beautiful Baroque church. Inside it was beautifully decorated with many marbles and paintings, and there was still the 12th century pulpit remaining very similar to the one in the Duomo of Salerno. Unfortunately I was not able to see the amazing and famous Library, the gothic cloisters and the longobard cemetery inside the monastery, but that just means I shall return here again. We then drove back into Cava de Tirreni were I was able to visit the Sanctuary of St Francis & St Anthony that had a nice renaissance/baroque facade and bell tower but was quite unadorned and modern inside since it was mostly destroyed during an earthquake in the 1980s.
Even though quite small I really liked visiting this town and I hope to come back and finish my visit of the Abbey.

The porticoes of Cava de Tirreni

Sanctuary of St Francis and St Anthony

The church of the Abbey

The large complex of the Abbey