• Municipalities

  Teggiano

• Address

  Via Gaetano D'Elia, 48, 84039 Teggiano SA

Description

Teggiano is a town in the historical region of Lucania, but in the province of Salerno, included in the UNESCO list. The historical centre is an ancient medieval village, located on a hill in the Diano Valley. Luca Mandelli, an important historian from Teggiano, attributes the ancient foundation of the town to colonists from Tegea, a Greek city.

Another hypothesis states that Teggiano was founded by the Lucanians at the beginning of the 4th century BC. The town assumed great importance in the Italic period, playing a leading role during the social wars. Countless historical remains scattered along the streets of the centre are evidence of that period.

From the 5th century, the village took on the name Diano and experienced its greatest glory during the period when the Sanseverino family made it a privileged place. In 1485, within the castle walls, the Congiura dei Baroni (Conspiracy of the Barons) was plotted by the Prince of Salerno against the King of Naples.  In 1497, Teggiano was besieged by the Duke of Calabrie, but its reputation as an unconquerable castle was confirmed on that occasion too, and the siege ended with Frederick's surrender.

From 1552, Teggiano became the feud of noble families of the Kingdom. In 1862, the new Italian government gave orders to avoid homonyms in the names of municipalities and Diano was renamed Teggiano, its name in Roman times. This change was not well received at the time and even today, many of the citizens use the old name.

The territory is composed partly of a hilly-mountainous area and partly of a flat area. The mountainous area also falls within the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park.

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