We were in
Salerno because it was one of the ports of call
our ship docked in for a day.
Many aboard went off on long excursions on buses that would take hours. We opted to stay nearby and see what we
could find on foot. We were told to
consider the Cathedral of St. Matthew, built between 1080 and 1085, so with no
other particular goal, we took the shuttle from the dock to the center of
Salerno and were told to follow the street we were on to the clock tower
several blocks away in the distance, and then, turn left and go up the
hill. Italians always tell you, “It’s
about a ten minute walk.” I’ve learned
their ten minutes means nothing.
When we
reached the tower I expected a large intersection and a street wide enough for
passing cars, but what we found was hardly more than an alleyway. Up the hill we went expecting some grand
plaza in front of an imposing cathedral, but instead, tucked in among apartment
buildings and shops there was only a well worn set of marble steps leading to
the front door of the church. Inside the
doors we were then in an atrium. Michael
Rose describes it this way in his book, Ugly as Sin:
“On a much smaller scale than the piazza is the atrium, an open courtyard (recalling the
forecourts of Solomon’s Temple) that’s more of an integrated element of the
church building. In the center of the
atrium, which is surrounded by colonnades of a cloister, is a fountain, where
our pilgrim
