Cetara, village of ancient fishermen

About this activity

The origins of the name Cetara, picturesque village of the Amalfi Coast, date back to the cetari, ancient fish merchants. The small port, in fact, is immediately recognizable thanks to the many moored fishing boats and canning factories. The fish preservation industry is still particularly active today.

Cetara is also known for the famous Colatura di Alici: used as a lean dish of the Christmas Eve dinner, it was created by the Cistercian monks, who salted anchovies caught in August in barrels with unglued staves. When the salt matured the anchovies, the liquid that dripped out was collected and used to season meats and vegetables. Over the centuries this tradition has been preserved and handed down. Today anchovy colatura is a prized oil that is sold in the typical stores of Cetara, along with Mediterranean red tuna.

What to see in Cetara

Certainly one of the favorite places for both tourists and citizens of Cetara is the wonderful little marina, a small beach enclosed between the Vicereale Tower on one side and the small harbor on the other.

The Tower itself is one of the symbols of the village, a building constructed entirely of stone, whose main function was to defend the coast from invasions by the Turks. The Tower was chosen as the seat of the Civic Museum, housing paintings and works by artists defined as costaioli because they portrayed wonderful scenery depicting the famous Amalfi Coast. In the lower rooms, on the other hand, is the museum-cellar dedicated to the colatura delle alici, where ancient barrels are kept for the aging of the liquid obtained from the maceration of anchovies kept in salt.

The marina in Cetara is not the only pleasantly frequented beach: for example, the Lannio Beach, reached by a flight of stairs near the Tower, is a quiet spot to relax or enjoy the sun on the rocks near the beach. The origins of the particular name are thought to derive from "lagne," the laments of monks slaughtered here during struggles with the Saracens.

Recognizable already of the curves of the Coast, reaching the historic center of the village, the majolica dome of the church of St. Peter, the patron church of the village, jumps out at you. It is in fact the wooden bust of St. Peter that is carried in procession during the festival honored on June 29.

From Corso Garibaldi, climbing some stairs leads to a terrace where the Church of St. Francis, once flanked by the convent of the same name from 1585; today the ancient complex is replaced by a famous local restaurant, precisely called "Al Convento," while the rooms inside serve as the town hall offices. This saint is also very important to Cetara, in fact his statue is also paraded during processions on October 4 and December 8.

The Church of St. Mary of Constantinople, dating back to 1800 and located in what is now Europe Square, also deserves a close look.

The Night of the Lampreys

Every year in July, the traditional Lightning Night. The now historic event aims to pass on from generation to generation the importance of local culture, roots and traditions, preventing them from being forgotten over the centuries.

During the evening, a fishing trip is organized in the waters off Cetara. The sea is completely illuminated by the lampare and the whole town waits on shore for the return of the fishermen with their nets full of anchovies. Of course, during the celebrations, shows, tastings and fun-filled initiatives are organized.

The history of Cetara

The origins of this village probably date back to the early Middle Ages. During the Ancient Ages its territory, almost completely uninhabited, belonged to the jurisdiction of the Etruscan city of Marcina, which is thought to be present-day Vietri sul Mare.

By 988, the chiesa of St. Peter the Apostle, around which settlement began to develop in the coastal and hilly area. In the Middle Ages the eastern part of the territory of Cetara belonged to the Lombard principality of Salerno, while the western part was part of the Romanesque-Byzantine duchy of Amalfi.

Seafaring settlement occurred in the second half of the 9th century, when this strategic location was occupied by a colony of Saracen pirates, then driven out towards the end of that century. In 1030 the Cetaresi paid the right to fish, the so-called ius piscariae, to the archbishop of Amalfi. in 1120, however, after coming under the political rule of Amalfi, Duke William assigned the Benedictine monastery of Erchie the right to collect the tithe that was paid for the activity of fishing in the sea of Cetara. Finally, the latter passed to the Abbey of the S.S. trinity of Cava, connected with Benedictine monasteries in Africa with which Cetara entertained pilgrimages.

At the time of the enfeoffment of the duchy, Cetara remained a free land; in those years the people of Cetara contributed courageously to the liberation of Frederick I of Aragon, second son of the King of Naples, held captive in Salerno. Meanwhile, unfortunately, the Amalfi coast was infested with Turkish privateers. In May 1534, the fleet of Sinan Pasha first sacked the villages of Erchie and Soverano, then attacked Cetara, capturing some inhabitants as slaves and killing others. Ten years later, a terrible storm routed the ships of Kheir-Eddin, known as The Barbarossa .

Following the birth of the Parthenopean Republic in 1799, the French fleet who supported the Neapolitan Jacobins, built a blockhouse to Conca dei Marini. A large group of British and Cetarean sailors, after a series of attacks, finally succeeded in routing the forces of the sailing ships guarding the area, overthrowing the French fort.

Although centuries have passed, what was once an ancient and small fleet, today continues to fearlessly traverse the Western Mediterranean. On January 1, 1834, Cetara became a municipality with independent administration separate from Vietri.

Cetara, fearless fleet of fishermen

As a result of direct dependence on Amalfi, a maritime republic, the Cetaresians assiduously participated in the maritime and commercial activities of the small coastal state, contributing to the triangular round of Amalfi trade, which had as its peaks theSouthern Italy, l'North Africa and theByzantium Empire.

The Cetaresians excelled in fishing because of the prosperity of the nearby waters: they fished for snappers, groupers, moray eels, or other qualities of fish caught in nets, including tuna, skipjack, mackerel, anchovies, and sardines. Typical of the place was the tonnara, a wall of massive nets made of hemp and esparto, supported afloat by a large amount of corks, then stopped in the bottom with mallets tied to large elbows, i.e., cables, and anchors. The traps started from the shoreline and went west and east, forming a cubic framework with various compartments. This "maze" had only one opening, called a door, through which the fish entered.

The fishermen of Cetara, like all others on the coast, followed in their activities the concept of profit sharing mentioned in the collection of maritime laws, better known as Tabula de Amalpha. This is the so-called half-earnings pact, or alla parte, which provided for the division of the profits derived from fishing and the subsequent sale of the catch into three parts, one of which accrued to the boat owner, another to the chief fisherman and the third to the crew.