Cava De' Tirreni - History

History

The appellation de' Tirreni given to Cava is due to its identification, still unconfirmed, with the ancient Etruscan town of Marcina, mentioned by Strabo. The valley was certainly inhabited during the Roman Age: the discovery of several archeological relics dating back to that period stands as evidence.

At the beginning of the 11th century, a nucleus of hermit monks gathered at the foot of Monte Finestra, about 2 km southwest of Cava, where the village of Corpo di Cava is now located. They were attracted by the famed saintliness of the Lombard noble, Alferio Pappacarbone (St Alferius), who lived a life of contemplation and prayer there. Thus was the Benedictine abbey of La Trinità della Cava created in 1011. It became one of the most active religious and cultural centres in Southern Italy.

The church and the greater part of the abbey buildings were entirely modernized in 1796. The old Gothic cloisters are preserved. The church contains a fine organ and several ancient sarcophagi. The archives, now national property, include fine incunabula, documents and manuscripts of great value (including the Codex Legum Longobardorum of 1004 and the La Cava Bible).

The prestige of the holy men leading the abbey, together with the need for protection, gave rise to the birth of an early residential complex there. In time, thanks to continuous donations, the possessions of the abbey increased, while the relative tranquillity of the valley brought growth in handicrafts and commerce.

Progress to autonomy and freedom from domination by the abbey was slow, and there were moments of tension. In 1394, Pope Boniface IX raised the territory's status to that of a city, separating Cava from the Archdiocese of Salerno, setting it up as a diocese reporting directly to the Holy See, and entrusting it to a bishop who would also have been the abbot. But the Cavesi, who objected to their feudal dependence on the abbey, attacked and devastated it several times between 1335 and 1508, claiming their right to autonomy. It was only in 1513 that Pope Leo X agreed to their claim, and with the Papal Bull "Sincere Devotionis" of March 22, 1513, Cava was created as an autonomous diocese.

Cava became a prosperous town thanks to the commercial acuity and industry of its inhabitants, who excelled in weaving and in building. Architects and engineers from Cava worked on the main public and private projects in Southern Italy. Gradually, the centre of the town moved from Corpo di Cava, the walled town close to the abbey, to Borgo Scacciaventi, known in dialect as lo commerzio (the commercial area). The pillars that can still be seen there date back to the early 15th century and are called portici (porticoes). They are still considered the centre of Cava de' Tirreni.

A large part of the population lived in the surrounding hamlets, some of them hard to reach, thus extending the territory as far as Cetara (which, together with Vietri sul Mare and other smaller hamlets, seceded from Cava in 1806). The people went to Borgo Scacciaventi for commerce and business, while the richest families started building their grand houses (palazzi) in the Borgo, and traders and artisans built their homes above their shops, which served, along with the porticoes in front, to protect their goods.

Cava was the scene of a major historical event of its time. King Ferdinand of Aragon, who ruled over the territories of Naples, was ambushed and surrounded by the Angevins at Foce near Sarno in 1460. He was saved by the intervention of soldiers from Cava, both salaried and conscripted. Led by Captains Joshua and Marino Longo, they came to the area of Foce di Sarno, descended from the mountain and attacked the Angevins. The Angevin army, surprised and unable to determine the extent of the attack, was forced to retire, allowing King Ferdinand to flee to Naples via Nola. Grateful for their courage and for the good turn, the King sent mayor Onofrio Scannapieco a blank parchment, on which the city could write any kind of request. The Cavesi declined to make any request, and the King then conferred upon the whole city the title of Fedelissima (most loyal). The document is still conserved in the Town Hall, blank as it was in 1460. Every year since then, on the first Sunday of July, about 1000 people in the costume of the period parade through the city in the Disfida dei Trombonieri (Challenge of the Trombonists), to the rhythms and music belonging to each district, thus re-invoking this page of their history .