The Archiepiscopal Seminary was founded by Archbishop Gaspare Cervantes in compliance with a provision of the Council of Trent (1543-1563), in which he had participated, which ordered every Diocese to establish a college where young men committed to the priestly life could be trained.
The building of the Archiepiscopal Seminary was then expanded by his successor, Antonio I Colonna, in 1570 and later remodeled again. In 1731, under the Archbishop of Capua, the structure was completely rebuilt and connected to the Cathedral by a staircase and finally took on a strictly neoclassical appearance in 1832, when Archbishop Lupoli added a second floor and transformed the entire main facade.
With Archbishop Mons. Marino Paglia (1835-1857), who initiated renovation works (construction of the marble altar in the chapel; renovation of the grand staircase; installation of large iron windows in the corridors overlooking the dormitories; frescoes depicting saints and scholars in the atrium), the fame achieved by the Seminary of Salerno as a place of scientific and literary scholarship was such that it was considered one of the best institutions in the Kingdom. For this reason, it was visited by Giacomo Leopardi in 1836, by Pope Pius IX and by the King of Naples Ferdinand II in 1849.
The earthquake of November 23, 1980 caused significant damage to the building’s structures, making it necessary, after more than four centuries, for the seminarians to be completely and permanently transferred to a newly built complex.
Information about Archiepiscopal Seminary of Salerno
Largo Plebiscito, 10
84125 Salerno (Salerno)
089239126
museodiocesanosalerno@virgilio.it
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