Battipaglia

Battipaglia is a modern city at the crossroads between Salerno and the Cilento Coast. It is the jumping-off point to the Cilento and to Paestum. It is also a center for mozzarella di bufala. Here you will find more than a dozen caseifici where you can buy the prized cheese.

It had historical roots, with Robert Guiscard claiming the territory in 1080 and ordering the castle to be built. It was ceded to the Church, then passed to the powerful Genoa family, the Doria. Later it was given over to the Neapolitan nobles, the Pignatelli family. The Castelluccio is an impressive sight on the hill, though it is privately owned and not open to the public. In 1858 the Bourbon King Ferdinand II built a town of Battipaglia as an agricultural colony for the Kindgom of the Two Sicilies. Battipaglia suffered heavy bombing during WWII.

The post-war era brought a boom of building, mostly concrete housing blocks, to provide a bedroom community for agricultural and industrial workers, and Battipaglia is also home to commuters to work in Salerno or Naples. While there is not much see, there are mozzarella stores and some restaurants here. It is also home to the new shopping center, the Cilento Outlet Village, which is just south of Battipaglia on the main state highway.