Castel San Lorenzo

Castel San Lorenzo is famous for being the main wine centre in the province of Salerno: the area boasts seven D.O.C. quality wines. (D.O.C.: “Controlled designation of origins” is a quality assurance label for Italian food products, especially cheeses and wines).

TO VISIT:
The town centre of Castel San Lorenzo has medieval origin. At its summit stands princes Carafa Palace built between 1272 and 1337 where once the feudal castle was. "Villa della Corte" looks like a square-shaped stronghold, fortified in the four corners by round towers.

Of the medieval churches, only the Church of the Rosary’s bell tower has remained. Within the village there are three churches: in the 18th century were built, on the edge of the town centre, Santa Maria dell'Assunta Church, St. John the Baptist Church and SS. Cosmas and Damian Church.
The Church of St. John the Baptist, built in 1779, is in Romanesque style with one nave. The Church dedicated to the Saints Cosma and Damian was built between 1700 and 1750. Both kept paintings attributed to Neapolitan painters of 1700. The Church of Saint Mary of the Asunción, finished in 1713, has one nave with wooden coffered ceiling. In this church there is the graveyard chapel of the Carafa family (altar of our Lady of Sorrows).

In the town, you can visit a small Museum of peasant culture and local handicraft. Despite the simple setting up, due to the limited space available at the venue (25 square meters within the Scuola Media Statale of Castel San Lorenzo), the Museum describes in detail the humble habits of the local population, through the exhibition of furniture and various tools. It also “tells” the farm work through the tools used for sowing, harvesting and carrying agricultural products.

The Museum doesn’t have only the purpose of neatly collecting objects of rural world but above all, it has the aim to take young people back to their traditions. The Museum is located in Via Generale Tommasini 2, admission is free and it is open year-round. Out of town, surrounded by vineyards along the River, lies the small shrine of our Lady of the Star, the oldest church of the town. Built in 1100, it opens to worship for the novena until the first Sunday of August, day of the celebrations.

CASTEL SAN LORENZO WINE
"Castel San Lorenzo" D.O.C. Lambiccato;
“Castel San Lorenzo" D.O.C. Moscato Spumante;
"Castel San Lorenzo" D.O.C. Bianco;
"Castel San Lorenzo" D.O.C. Rosato;
"Castel San Lorenzo" D.O.C. Rosso;
"Castel San Lorenzo" D.O.C. Barbera;
"Castel San Lorenzo" D.O.C. Barbera riserva.

These wines are produced by the Val Calore Agricultural Cooperative, with the names Lambiccato, Moscato Spumante, Fontelce, Conviviale, Feudico, Barbera and Barbera riserva. The "festival of the seven D.O.C. wines” takes place in Castel San Lorenzo every year, from August 12th to 19th .

In the year 2011 the D.O.C. Castel San Lorenzo is enriched with two more wines: 1) The Aglianicone of Castel San Lorenzo, (ancient vine widely used until the 1940s, then almost completely disappeared and thankfully recovered; 2) Moscato passito of Castel San Lorenzo, wine made from the finest moscato grapes (Moscadella), it has always been produced only by a few winemakers of this area and then almost forgotten. This excellent wine was recovered in 2000s and produced from the Val Calore Cooperative under the name "Mea Culpa," Paestum " I.G.T. moscato passito; it has just become D.O.C.