On September 21, it is the day of the procession, it is the day of St. Matthew, Patron of the city of Salerno: an entire community pours through the streets for the most anticipated moment of the year. Faith, history and folklore merge into one great collective ritual.
The one between the city and its patron is a visceral and deep bond, rooted in ancient history and legend.
‘Passing, he saw Levi, the son of Alpheus, sitting at the tax counter, and said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose up and followed him»
Marco, 2,14
According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus sees Levi, the son of Alpheus, sitting at the tax stand, intent in his daily work as a publican, a tax collector. Listening to these words, Levi (Matthew) abandons everything and follows Jesus, beginning a new life of constant evangelization, until he arrives at death around the year 69 AD, whose circumstances are wrapped in mystery.
Just as the next story of his mortal remains is wrapped in mystery, the long wandering of his relics, which would have been transported from Africa to Brittany until they arrived in Velia, where they were found in 954 AD. and finally lead to Salerno, by the Lombard prince Gisulfo I.
The siege of Roberto the Guiscardo and the subsequent conquest of the city open the doors to the Norman dominion. Guiscardo decides to build a majesticCathedralin 1081 the remains of St. Matthew are welcomed into the Crypt, the first completed nucleus of the Cathedral.
“Salerno is mine, I defend her”
It is historically documented that in June 1544 the admiral of the Ottoman fleet Khair ad-Din, called Ariadeno Barbarossa, performed fierce raids along the Tyrrhenian coast, while it belongs to legend and popular faith the episode that most of all determines the link between Salerno and San Matteo: the miracle that saves the city on June 27, 1544.
The Barbarossa deploys its ships in front of the Gulf of Salerno, on a clear summer day. The Salernitans, ready to fight but aware of danger, ask for the protection of the Patron. Suddenly the sky becomes dark, and a tremendous storm overlooks the sea, landing and dispersing the Saracen fleet.
Legend has it that San Matteo himself appeared in the sky at that time, saying the famous phrase: ‘Salerno is mine, I defend».
This phrase, with St. Matthew and the image of the city, appears on the “Panno” that every year, on August 21, is set up in the Atrium of the Cathedral: it is the famous Alzata del Panno. On the cloth the historical promise of protection falls, and when the drappo slowly rises along the facade of the Duomo, Salerno and the Salento officially begin the countdown for the most anticipated day.
The most anticipated day
The long wait culminates on September 21st, a day dedicated to the Saint since the morning, but above all with the solemn procession that crosses the main streets of the historic and city center. The procession does not see only the statue of the Patron, but also the other saints who accompany him forever: Anthes, Gaius and Fortunato, the “Santi Martiri Salernitani”, Pope Gregory VII, the pontiff who died in exile in Salerno and whose remains are kept in the Cathedral, and finally the massive wooden statue of St. Joseph.
The precious silver statue of St. Matthew triumphs. The symbol of the Patronus is covered with flowers and is carried on the shoulder by the historical “paranze” of the bearers, who with cadenced steps lead the Saint until the return to the Cathedral.
Here, the famous and tiring final race along the steps of the Duomo closes the exciting embrace between the Saint and his city, before the feast continues on the streets between the scents of the typical dishes and the traditional fireworks on the sea.
