San Mango Piemonte
San Mango Piemonte: a town at the foot of the Picentini Mountains
San Mango Piemonte is an Italian municipality with 2612 inhabitants located in the province of Salerno, in Campania. The town is situated at the foot of the Picentini Mountains and is developed at the slopes of Mount Tubenna in a plain that gently slopes down to the foothills of Giovi. San Mango Piemonte borders Salerno to the south and west.
The history of San Mango Piemonte
San Mango Piemonte is a town with ancient and fascinating history. According to some historical sources, the town was founded in 88 BC following the destruction of the city of Picentia by the Romans. The inhabitants of the destroyed city fled to the mountains around the ancient city, giving life to numerous settlements in the valleys dominated by the Picentini Mountains. The name San Mango Piemonte has a long and interesting history. It derives from the alliteration and abbreviation of the ancient name of ''Terra Sancti Magni Pedemontis'', which in turn was derived from the name of the patron saint San Magno and the position of the oldest inhabited nucleus. Popular tradition has it that the Bishop of Trani, Magno of Anagni, passed through these lands fleeing from persecution and took refuge in a cave on the mountain that today bears his name and dominates the inhabited area. After his death, the Saint appeared to the faithful, indicating the cave as the place where he wanted an hermitage to be built, which was subsequently erected and became a pilgrimage site on the day of the patronal feast.
San Mango Piemonte was initially a town closely linked to the events of the nearby city of Salerno, due to the small size of the inhabited nucleus. However, in the twelfth century it assumed an important role in the defensive system of the Principality of Salerno, acquiring a strong identity that led to the establishment of its own Universitas. The town then grew further in the following centuries under the rule of the Santomango, Sanseverino, Caracciolo, and Cavaselice families, who governed the town until the eighteenth century.
The name of the municipality was changed following Royal Decree No. 935 of 1862, when it assumed the name of San Mango Piemonte. From 1811 to 1860, San Mango Piemonte was part of the administrative subdivision of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies## Circondari di San Cipriano, belonging to the District of Salerno of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. From 1860 to 1927, during the Kingdom of Italy (1861-1946), the town belonged to the San Cipriano district, belonging to the Salerno district.
Symbols of the municipality
The coat of arms and the banderole of San Mango Piemonte were granted by the President of the Republic's decree of 25 October 1999. The banderole of the municipality is a yellow banner.
Places of interest in San Mango Piemonte
The municipality of San Mango Piemonte offers visitors many interesting attractions. One of the most suggestive places to visit is the Hermitage of San Magno, the ancient cave refuge of the patron saint and a place of pilgrimage on the day of the patronal feast. On the rock wall there is a fascinating frescoed image of the Saint, dating back to 1541.
San Mango Piemonte is a town with ancient and fascinating history and offers tourists and visitors the opportunity to experience a suggestive historic-cultural experience.
