View of Santa Maria Castellabate and the Gulf of Salerno from Castellabate, Italy
Landscape photograph looking on the Gulf of Salerno from Castellabate in the southern region of Campania. A medieval town, built in the 12th century, Castellabate stands on a mountain about 900 feet (275 meters) above the southern edge of Gulf of Salerno Fading to pale blue with clouds hovering over its horizon the Tyrrhenian Sea can be seen in the fading background of the image. The hilltop town was built by a local abbot as his private residence.
The seaside resort town of Santa Maria di Castellabate is on the water below the town. Jetties protect the town’s beaches which can be seen with their orderly rows of umbrellas. Once a hunting lodge for royalty, the Palazzo Belmonte, with its courtyard is situated in the lower left of the image. The medieval religious and secular aristocracy that once controlled the area has given way to the more democratic population of middle class vacationers.