Pertosa is a village and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' of the

province of Salerno The province of Salerno () is a province in the Campania region of Italy. It has 1,054,766 inhabitants as of 2025. Geography The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Bat ...

in the

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

region of south-west

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In 2010 its population was 714.

History

Geography

The village is situated in the eastern side of the province of Salerno, close to the municipalities of

Auletta Auletta is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. History According to a legend retold by historian Giovan Battista Pacichelli, the name of Auletta would stem from Auleto, one of Aenea ...

, Polla and

Caggiano Caggiano is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. Geography Located near the Basilicata region, Caggiano borders the municipalities of Auletta, Pertosa, Polla, Salvitelle, Sant'Angelo Le F ...

and to

Alburni The Alburni are an Italian mountain range of the Province of Salerno, Campania, part of the Apennines. Due to their geomorphology, they are popularly known as the "''Dolomites of Campania''" or of Southern Italy. The highest mountain is the Pano ...

mountains. Its only hamlet (''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') 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 consolidat ...

'') is the little village of Muraglione, in which are located the show caves.

Demographics

At the census in 2001 the town had a population of 727, a drop from the 897 at the previous census in 1991.Pertosa on campania.indettaglio.it
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Main sights

Pertosa is a receptive tourist place principally for its

karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

show cave A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits. Definition A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to ...

system, the

Pertosa Caves The Pertosa Caves (), co-officially named Pertosa-Auletta Caves () since 2012, are a karst show cave system located in the municipality of Pertosa, in the province of Salerno, Campania, Italy. Overview The caves, also named Grotte dell'Angelo a ...

(''Grotte di Pertosa''). The caves are located in the valley below the town, by the river

Tanagro The Tanagro (''Tanàgro'') or Negro is a river of the Province of Salerno, southwestern Italy. It rises in the Vallo di Diano and is a tributary of the Sele River. In ancient times it was known as ''Tanager''. Overview From the origin to the mou ...

Gallery

PERTOSA (Caves-1).JPG, Entrance of the touristic caves Pertosa Station.JPG,

Railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

Street in Pertosa - 37599516395.jpg, Street in Pertosa Santa Maria delle Grazie - Pertosa - 38430717256.jpg, Santa Maria delle Grazie

References

External links

Pertosa municipal website

Official site of the caves
{{authority control Cities and towns in Campania Localities of Cilento