Night

The Nightlife under the artistic lights installations.

If you ask me what's the best thing about Salerno, my answer would indubitably be "Light".
This past new year's eve was the second one I had the pleasure to spend in the city - as someone would remember from my last year's blogpost about its street art movement - and still I can't seem to shake the feeling that Salerno is the city with the best light in Italy.
I know, it's a very bold statement, but if you think that the district of Salerno includes the Amalfi Coast, you can easily understand why...

But it's not only the daylight and the sunshine that make Salerno the italian light capital: since 2006, during the winter holidays, the streets of the city are the scenario of the event "Luci d'artista", literally "artists' lights".


The nightlife of the city is impressive, every corner hosts cafès, bars, restaurants, art galleries and shops filled with people, live music, DJ sets and the smell of fried goods ( "cuoppi") coming from the kitchens.
It's an open air huge amusement park, bright, colourful and inviting.



But let's jump to my favourite part of the holiday...



Day

The promenade and the sunset on a controversial harbour.


Whenever you pass by Salerno, be sure to save more daytime hours as you can. If you love marine scenarios and sun glares on the sea surface just as I do, you can't miss the opportunity to take a walk on the seaside promenade, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the singing of the seagulls (I swear, the most polite breed of seagulls you'll ever encounter) that fly to eat from the tourist's hands.
On your way you will probably find street musicians, food stands and strangely assorted couples of friends playing chess.


The promenade, to me, is the essence of Salerno: on one side there are tall, elegant buildings, that stand out behind the palms and dominate the view on the gulf, symbol of the upper-middle class, and on the other side there's the harbour, to remind everyone that the richness of Salerno truly lies in the sea.



A few minutes from the city center there are even more authentic seaside scenaries, like the small harbour of Pastena. An oasis out of this time, a beach full of fishermen's wooden boats, old houses with crowded balconies, small cafès and grandfathers teaching their grandsons how to fish from the cliff.
This is the ancient maritime village, detached from the city center untill the '50s, definitely not one of the most prominent touristic attraction of the city but, imho, a place to visit to truly understand the spirit of the city and of the people of Salerno, that still frequent the square to hang out with friends. Also, a very romantic spot for couples to watch the sunset...



Unfortunately, I've been informed that some entrepreneurial plans could be erasing this gem to make room for a huge, extremely modern harbour and boardwalk that could completely change the face of the town, distorting its spirit and its soul. I'm probably very romantic and sensitive about this subject, coming from a seaside "fishermen's" town myself, but you know how important it is for me to make everyone apreciate the autenthicity of italian traditions.


I really hope that the project will be stopped or at least downsized to fit the landscape and not to ruin the rustic beauty of this place.

If you would like to know more about this issue, here's the link to the committee for the safeguard of the ancient harbour:
http://giulemanidalporticciolo.altervista.org/