It has always been a village fishermen. Cetara was the farthest eastern
possession of the Amalfi Republic.Then, fallen into the hands of
Saracens (879 a.C.), it suffered domination for a long time.
Moreover, it was one of the most important port bases of Arabian
pirates due to the precious shelter afforded by the nearby Cala
Fuenti. From there fast boats of the raiders sailed in order to hit
and sack the coast centers of the middle and southern Tyrrhenian
Sea.
In fact, both the Longobards who dominated this part of
Southern Italy, and the Sea Republie of Amalfi, the other great
power of region, could not efficiently control their coastal
possessions. As a matter of fact, the Longobards were not very
familiar with sea activities, while Amalfi was mainly a commercial
and not a military power.
Finally after Christian governors
had driven the Saracens out of Southern Italy (and out of Sicily), Cetara shared Amalfi's decline and in the following centuries, it
was more and more under the influence of Salerno. In the 16th
century Cetara suffered a terrible raid carried out by the Turks of
Sinan Pascia' that reduced to slavery more than three hundred
inhabitants, exterminating all those people who had not managed to
escape.
Today the town lives a more tranquil life, made of summery tourism and winter
fishing. It is a calm and industrious village, that has preserved its
urban structure almost intact surrounding its sandy beach and port.
Erchie
Erchie has always been the beach chosen by the most enterprising inhabitants of Salerno.
Today it is a very small and charming village climbing up along the slopes of
the Coast in a pleasant and uninterrupted series of small villas discreetly
hidden behind beautiful gardens. The town was born as a Benedictine abbey
(eventually restored in 1966) that attracted a certain number of residents,
until it was destroyed by a Saracen raid in 1154 and the village was
subsequently abandoned.
In 1451, the Abbey was abolished by Pope Nicola V and the area became dominion of Salerno and
was slowly repopulated.
Erchie offers itself to the caress of the blue sea of the Coast on two small and
elegant beaches, divided by a rocky strip. Until a few years ago, it was possible
to pass from one beach to the other through a fissure that today has been walled
up.
Erchie 