Palinuro is an Italian small town, the most populated civil parish (''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a '' comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate terri ...

'') of

Centola Centola ( Cilentan: ''Cendula'') is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. Geography Located in southern Cilento, Centola borders with the municipalities of Camerota, Celle di Bulgheria ...

, Province of Salerno, in the

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

region. The name of the town is derived from

Palinurus Palinurus (''Palinūrus''), in Roman mythology and especially Virgil's ''Aeneid'', is the coxswain of Aeneas' ship. Later authors used him as a general type of navigator or guide. Palinurus is an example of human sacrifice; his life is the price ...

, the helmsman of

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

, as recorded in the fifth and sixth books of the ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of ...

''.

Geography

Palinuro lies on the southern side of

Cilento Cilento is an Italian geographical region of Campania in the central and southern part of the Province of Salerno and an important tourist area of southern Italy. Cilento is known as one of the centers of Mediterranean diet. Geography The ...

, on the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

and in the northern part of Cape Palinuro. The town, situated at the estuaries of the Lambro and Mingardo rivers, is also the main port of the

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

. It is 7 km from Centola, 8 km from Marina di Camerota, 10 km from Pisciotta and 80 km from

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

Tourism

Palinuro is part of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, an area of "

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ...

" typical of

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

countries. It is a

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

destination, especially in

summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

, due to the cleanliness of its waters and its beaches; and is regularly awarded five stars Blue Flag
The town is also known for the caves along its coast,Caves of Palinuro
''www.palinuroculturaevacanze.it'' which are regularly visited, especially by divers. File:Capo palinuro.jpg, Cape Palinuro File:Palinuro. Ansicht.jpg, The port of Palinuro File:Palinuro-hafen-02.JPG, View of Palinuro from the sea File:Palinuro-grotta-azzurra-02.JPG, Blue cave

Transport

The town is linked to

and

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

hydrofoil A hydrofoil is a lifting surface, or foil, that operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to aerofoils used by aeroplanes. Boats that use hydrofoil technology are also simply termed hydrofoils. As a hydrofoil craft gains s ...

s. The nearest main road is 10 km to the north, connecting

Battipaglia Battipaglia () is a municipality ('' comune'') in the province of Salerno, Campania, south-western Italy. Famed as a production place of buffalo mozzarella, Battipaglia is the economic hub of the Sele plain. History Formerly part of the an ...

Paestum Paestum ( , , ) was a major ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Magna Graecia (southern Italy). The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order, dating from about 550 to 450 BC, whi ...

- Agropoli-

Vallo della Lucania Vallo della Lucania (commonly known simply as ''Vallo'') is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It lies in the middle of Cilento and its population is 8,680.

- Policastro- Sapri. The nearest

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

, Pisciotta-Palinuro (on the

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...

line) is 8 km to the north and is linked to the town by regular buses.

Culture

The Arco Naturale beach of Palinuro was selected as a location in various films including '' Jason and the Argonauts'' (1963), Hercules and the Captive Women, and Clash of the Titans.

References

External links