Had some time to kill before our train back to Milan, so we decided to check out some of the sights in Salerno itself. First we started at the Duomo. As with any good Italian city you have at least one church, if not many more. The crypt is the highlight of this church. The painted ceilings and the inlaid marble walls. All the hours of work that went into this church. The bones of St. Matthew (one of the original disciples of Jesus) are buried in this crypt as well.
The Gardens of Minerva were a medieval garden and have been restored recently. They were once the gardens of a medical doctor that was heavily involved in the research of plants and what uses they have in healing. The gardens are terraced for different plant zones, which also provide some nice views of Salerno.
The oldest medical school in Europe was started in Salerno. There is a virtual museum which has highlighted some of the beliefs and research of medicine during medieval times. The school’s heyday was the 11th-13th centuries. So, it’s here that they were practicing the blood letting and some other techniques that would be considered barbaric today. Doctors at that time also knew there was a lot of information to be gained from urine samples. But unlike today, in those days the doctor would also taste the urine as part of their analysis.
We found a pizza place that was certified by the Italian celiac association. So, I thought I’d give Italian pizza another shot. It was the best pizza I’ve had in forever. Pizzeria Gourmet in Salerno. Will got the pizza calzone. It was half pizza and half calzone. Got his stamp of approval on that one.
Got the fast train from Salerno back to Milan, which takes a little under 5 hours. Not bad at all considering those cities are close to 500 miles apart.
We had an uneventful flight back to New York to round out our trip. We spent the weekend and met up with Savannah, one of Will’s cousins. She’s going to school in upstate NY and was able to come join us in the city to check out some sights. We also made it to Rockaway beach to visit with Lorraine’s friends and enjoy a home cooked meal.