Shaping the Urban Landscape: The Normans as New Patrons in Salerno

This paper focuses on the urban transformation of Salerno, one among the crucial cities to the strengthening of the Normans in the Mediterranean and, above all, in Southern Italy. The study analyses the urban context of one of the most significant cities for Robert Guiscard’s increasing power, as it was conquest in 1076 and immediately converted in a scenario for the monumental representation of Norman patrons. In fact, the relevance of this city in South Italy is clearly recognizable not only for its political and military role, but also from a material perspective, with particular reference to the architectural patronage. Thus, the settlement of the Normans in Salerno is considered in its dynamic of development, as the new conquerors did play a pivotal role in the reshaping of the urban landscape, until that moment modelled by Lombard family groups and their private churches. The reconstruction of the cathedral (1080-1085) – established by archbishop Alphanus and funded by the Guiscard – has to be considered just one, but fundamental, step in the long process that gave the episcopal church a central role in the urban landscape, but also in the religious life of the city. Moreover, it became a model for new buildings both within Salerno and in the surrounding territories, where the Normans needed to consolidate and legitimate their presence and social power. A particular focus is assigned to some minor churches within the medieval city centre, as they show elements of continuity and discontinuity with religious private foundations in the Lombard Salerno with particular reference to architectural structures and typologies and the reuse of antiquities, clearly recognisable in the new Norman buildings. In addition, taking material evidences and archival documentation into account, these new buildings, i.e. churches and palaces, are investigated in close relation to the urban context, as they reflect «the family-based approach to structuring sacred space» (Caskey 2004) 1 and a growing society that requires more space for its settlement. Aim of this paper is highlighting the metamorphosis of Salerno from the Norman conquest throughout the whole Twelfth century, even if by the 1150s the city lost most of its importance due to the establishment of Palermo as capital for the new Reign. Despite this major political change, Salerno as to be recognised as a “turning point”, from the old Lombard fragmentation to the new and progressively steady Norman power, a city that cannot be under-evaluated considering the many-sided presence of the Normans in the South.