Teggiano


Teggiano is a town and comune in Campania, Italy, in the province of Salerno. It is situated on an isolated eminence above the upper part of the valley to which it gives the name of Vallo di Diano.
Among the historic centers of the province, Teggiano is certainly one that has best preserved its ancient appearance of the fortress and it is this aspect which is shown to those who reach the old town. The appearance of a Roman oppidum, still now remembered by the well preserved plan of the Cardo and of the Decumanus, was renewed in the Norman period and in the age of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen.

History

Tegianum was built by Lucanians early in the 4th century BC, and later was a municipal town of Lucania. There was Gracchan colonization in the 2nd century BCE, and a larger colonization program under Nero.
During the Middle Ages Diano had a predominant role in the history of the Vallo di Diano. In Norman times, the Sanseverino family, counts of Marsico and later princes of Salerno, took over the fief of Diano, which was composed of the hamlets of Sassano, Monte San Giacomo, San Rufo, San Pietro al Tanagro and Sant'Arsenio. Teggiano was ruled by the Sanseverino for over three centuries. They chose the castle as a stronghold in which they could take shelter during emergencies. At that time Diano was surrounded by high walls with 25 guard towers and four gates. In 1497, under Antonello Sanseverino of Salerno, the city resisted the siege undertaken by Frederick IV of Naples for 8 months. Following a new rebellion, led this time by Ferrante, last Prince of Salerno, in 1552 the Sanseverino family was expelled from the kingdom. Teggiano became a fief of other noble families including the Gomez da Silva, the Grimaldi, the Caracciolo, the Villani, the Colonna, the Calà and Schipani.
In 1564, after the Council of Trent, Bishop Paolo Varallo instituted in Diano one of the first seminaries in Italy, completed in 1601. On July 17, 1586 Pope Sixtus V gave the right to establish the residence in Diano, in the actual see, to Bishop Lelio Morello, giving to Diano Episcopalian prerogatives and raised in the meanwhile the church of S. Maria Maggiore to the honor of Cathedral. The action of the Counter-Reformation and the presence of high offices brought in the later centuries a radical remaking of the Romano-Gothic churches in Baroque style.
Two major earthquakes concerned Teggiano's territory: the Neapolitan earthquake that occurred on December 16, 1857, and the Irpininan earthquake on November 23, 1980.

Main sights

Ruins of the ancient city can be traced at the foot of the hill; a Roman bridge is also present. Other landmarks are: