C

C.so Reginna - v Casa Mannini - Ruderi del BALUARDO di S SEBASTIANO - v De Jusola - I e II EDICOLA del CROCIFISSO - v Casa Imparato - Cappella della MADONNA della LIBERA - v Casa Imparato - via Nuova Chiunzi - via Accola - via Castello - CASTELLO di S NICOLA de THOROPLANO.
DIFFICULTY: MEDIA
TIME: 1 h

Once again on the Corso Reginna keeping to the right we walk to via Casa Mannini, shady and set-apart, at the end what remains of BALUARDO of S SEBASTIANO...

Maiori because of her strategic position was furnished with:

an outside wall, called Baluardo di S Sebastiano that led from the "Rocca S Angelo" (the actual Collegiata), on the West Side to Monte Brusario to the East. Six circular towers at intervals the Bastion opened on to the beach with three great doors with drawbridges.
Outside the walls the moat where in case of necessity the river Reginna could be deviated...
A second line at the foot of the mountain with three cardinal towers, and a series of smaller towers that girdled Ponteprimario: on the inside of this belt, higher up, the Rock of S Nicola de Thoroplano extreme refuge in case of siege, "...
on the outlying beach there was rigging and cargoes, ships in dry dock, about 200 ships and another 100 in the making..." (Cerasuoli)

          These fortification were destroyed by the Pisans in 1137, but the Castle of S Nicola was used for another century until the arrival of cannons made it useless and so it was abandoned. The early defence structures that remained were the small towers along the coast, these became integrated into the defence plan of the Spanish Viceroy Don Pedro De Toledo. The principal BASTION apart from a small piece (very much lower because at years of treading feet is notably higher than the original level, the tower at the cross-road with the state road for Chiunzi and another small FRAGMENT on the opposite side of the road (Nuova Chiunzi) in via De Jusola beside the elementary school...we continue to climb...

          A few steps and in the shade of a lane there is a precious WOODEN CRUCIFIX, an altar in the open air for spontaneous moment of prayer...a little further on another WOODEN CRUCIFIX, more antique and less decorated originally placed in the adjacent CHAPEL OF THE VERGINE ADDOLORATA where it is said S Alfonso M. Dè Liguori preached...

          Going straight, ahead we reach the zone of Lazzaro the Eastern corner of Maiori where you have a birds eye view of all the city...

          we turn back on our steps to via Nuova Chiunzi, straight ahead as far as via Accola, taking via Castello and after a short walk, a gate with a bell, giving at a ring, we hear "TRASITE TRASITE" (please come in) and jovial mastro Crescenzo welcomes you with a smile. He is last romantic guardian of a once glorious castle

CASTELLO di S NICOLA De THORO PLANO
Built in the IX century to defend the city from the raids of the Longobards, some would have its origin in the hands of the Barbarians (the prince of Benevento, Sicardo). At the time of Amalfitan Dukedom with other castles it gave birth to the articulated system of defence, point of observation and extreme defence if the baluards of the valley were forced to capitulate. After being abandoned for a long period in the XV century it was restored and has arrived to us nearly intact from that time...

The form of an irregular polygon, the perimeter is about 550 m, over a surface of about 7500mq. The wall is spaced out by nine small semicircular towers. Inside it was designed to take more than a hundred citizens, still preserved warehouses and cisterns, and the ruins of ancient small church of S Nicola from which probably the entire complex took its name...

A stupendous view that takes the breath away the Gulf, the Monte dell'Avvocata, Ravello, Monte Sant'Angelo a Tre Pizzi...an ideal place to enjoy the sunset and end our itinerary...

TORRI COSTIERE

The numbers of towers in Maiori are nine, nearly all built in the second half of the XVI century, part of the defence system designed by the Vicar of Naples Don Pedro De Toledo; from the West in order:

- Between Maiori and Minori, the tower "dell'ANNUNZIATA" called "TORRICELLA" of 1563;
- At centre of the town the "TORRE REVIGLIANA" the largest of all dismantled in the XIX century;
- At the end of the curve of the coast the "TORRE dell'ANGOLO" or "delle FORMICOLE", today given the mistaken name of TORRE NORMANNA. This bulwark and the Torre Revigliana were furnished with two cannons marked with the shield of the city, in 1758 by order of the Spanish Government they were taken to Castle S Elmo in Naples;
- Continuing: the "ACQUARULO" in the locality of Salicerchie; the "S SPIRITO" in locality Badia; the "LAMA DI CANE"; the "TOWER of CAPODORSO" today is half destroyed; the "TOWER of TUMULO", and lastly the "ANGEVIN TOWER" of Erchie dated 1278.

The constructions functioned mainly as look-out towers, built to have a constant contact between them, by torch light: the tower that first saw danger give out the alarm to all the others...Dante remembered this ingenuous system of the IX canto of the Inferno (Divine Comedy)...

Torna a
Giratesori