Laurino is a town and comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the province of Salerno

Province of Salerno

The Province of Salerno is a province in the Campania region of Italy.-Geography:The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 139,579; Cava de' Tirreni with a population of 53,488; Battipaglia with a population of 51,115; and Nocera Inferiore which has a...

 in the Campania

Campania

Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...

 region of southwestern Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. Laurino currently holds a population of 1,758 inhabitants.

Geography

Laurino is a typical medieval hill town of the Cilento

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.-Geography:...

, the southernmost part of Campania. It dominates the surrounding landscape, overlooking the Calore Lucano

Calore lucano

The Calore Lucano is a river in Campania,southern Italy, whose course is entirely included in the province of Salerno, within Cilento, for a total of about 63 kilometers...

 river, which is crossed by two medieval bridges; Laurino was once known as the "pearl of the Calore". The river flows through the Cilento national park from its source up on Monte Cervati; it is known for the wildlife it attracts, such as European otter

European Otter

The European Otter , also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters....

s. There are many laurel trees in the area, which probably gave their name to the village via the Latin Laurus or Laurinus.

History

The settlement goes back to pre-Christian times. In the 12th century the total population exceeded 20,000, spread between the main town and five surrounding villages. However Laurino was destroyed by the troops of Frederick III of Sicily

Frederick III of Sicily

Frederick II was the regent and subsequently King of Sicily from 1295 until his death. He was the third son of Peter III of Aragon and served in the War of the Sicilian Vespers on behalf of his father and brothers, Alfonso and James...

 during the War of the Sicilian Vespers

War of the Sicilian Vespers

The War of the ' Vespers started with the insurrection of the Sicilian Vespers against Charles of Anjou in 1282 and finally ended with the peace of Caltabellotta in 1302...

(1282-1302).

Due to migration in recent decades toward the north in search for employment, the current population is just under 2000.

Main sights

• Ruins of the Ducal Palace
• Frescos and wooden carvings of the main church, Santa Maria Maggiore.

The place is known for its natural environment, and initiatives such as the Jazz in Laurino festival in August.

External links

• Laurino.info Photoblog
• Zadalampe.com Public & private history of Laurino
• Jazzinlaurino An annual jazz festival