Population: 19,830 (2003)
Official website: Agropoli
Wikipedia: Agropoli
Map: MapQuest

The city of Agropoli, sits just south of Paestum, and is approximately 35 minutes driving from Salerno.  The old part of the town, what most tourists come to see, spills on to an indented promotory jutting out into the sea, which commands a fine view over the sea of the Cilento. 

Learn more about touring Agropoli

The name of the town itself "Agropoli" alludes to what many believe are its fouding fathers - the Greek, but many scholars now believe that in fact, this city has Byzantine origins and was in reality founded no earlier than the 5th century A.D. 

In the 9th century, the Saracens, the famous Mediterranean pirates, who were famous for terrorizing coastal towns along Italy's Tyrrhenian sea, conquered Agropoli and made it their stronghold for over two centuries.  As a result, the infamous group, who were known throughout the meditteranean, came to be known as the "Agropolitan Saracens."  A field, within the town, has preserved its denomination of "Saracen field" to this very day. 

Today Agropoli is a mostly modern, by comparision to some of the nearby sites, like Paestum.  However, there are many historical marks throughout the town, such as the medieval castle with its ajoining borough and the city gate dating from Aragonese times.

by Jesse Andrews, October 6th, 2005