A few minutes south of Paestum, at the southern end of
the Bay of Salerno, is Agropoli. The name, clearly from Greek acropolis,
does indeed mean "high city," but there is no evidence
at all that the town is any older than the century
following the fall of the Roman empire. The hill upon
which the nucleus of the original town sits was probably
first inhabited in the fifth century AD by Byzantine
forces who were contending for Italy with great numbers
of Goth invaders sweeping
down the peninsula at the time. Two things stand out
about Agropoli today. One is the Saracen castle, built
by the Byzantines. The term "Saracen castle" or "Saracen tower" is used
throughout the coastal regions of southern Italy to
describe hundreds of watch towers built by the various
rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, first to watch for Arab
incursions in southern Italian waters and later for
Ottoman Turks. "Saracens" thus became a generic term for
"Muslim pirates." Interestingly, the Saracen castle in
Agropoli was actually inhabited by Saracens—and
for quite a number of years (from 882, when they took it
from Byzantines, to 1028 when they were finally expelled
by the Normans). Remains of
Arabic inscriptions attest to the Saracen presence in
Agropoli.
The other
interesting point about Agropoli is the fact that the
original city, the area high on the hill surrounding the
fortress is still inhabited. In fact, there are even
‘for-rent’ signs, evidence perhaps of the town’s
significant renaissance in the age of mass tourism.
After all, there are good beaches nearby, so why not
hole up for a summer high on an ancient fortress
hillside? The castle, itself, is now a private home,
museum and convention center of sorts. You can visit it
by just ringing the bell, thus bidding the lord of the
manor to grant you entrance. (If that doesn’t work,
threaten him with your cross-bow. A small fee will also
do nicely.) You can do the obligatory drawbridge and
dungeon tour —failing, of course, to keep your merlons
and crenels straight— and then stop and rest, still high
on the hill and sheltered by the bulwarks of the castle,
itself, at one of the pizzerias and restaurants that the
inhabitants have seen fit to add in the last 1,500
years. Then, meander down to the newer parts of town on
the lower slopes, appreciating how urban expansion must
have changed as castles on high ground gradually lost
their strategic importance.