Il 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, that ordered every Diocese to establish a college to train young people determined to embark on the priestly life.
The building of the Archiepiscopal Seminary was then expanded by his successor, Antonio I Colonna, in 1570 and subsequently remodeled again. In 1731, under the Archbishop of Capua, the structure was completely rebuilt and connected to the Cathedral by a staircase and finally assumed a strictly neoclassical appearance in 1832, when Archbishop Lupoli raised the 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; refurbishment of the grand staircase; creation of large iron windows in the corridors overlooking the dormitories; frescoes with figures of saints and scholars in the atrium) the fame achieved by the Seminary of Salerno, as a place of scientific and literary erudition, was such as to consider it 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 considerable damage to the building structures, so much so that, after more than four centuries, the complete and definitive transfer of the seminarians to a recently constructed complex was necessary.
Information about the Archiepiscopal Seminary of Salerno
Largo Plebiscito, 10
84125 Salerno (Salerno)
089239126
museodiocesanosalerno@virgilio.it
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