Marcellianum
The Western Lucania Trail
From the Baptistery to the Sanctuaries

In the area of ​​the Roman city of Cosilinum, in the Vallo di Diano, along the Via Popilia, an ancient agricultural estate called Marcellianum stood in Late Antiquity, named after Pope Marcellus I, who, in the early 4th century, was the first evangelizer of the area and established the diocese.

Marcellianum—the Western Lucania Trail—today links ancient hill and mountain routes, comprising 17 circular itineraries located in the various towns and hamlets of the area. The trail offers evocative views of the Vallo di Diano and allows visitors to explore the ecclesiastical cultural heritage spread throughout the area, beginning with the early Christian Baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte.

Padula Sacra is the pilot project that gave rise to Marcellianum. Padula Sacra was founded in 2016 from the need to unite the ecclesiastical resources present in the Padula area (Salerno). The city, world-famous for the monumental Certosa di San Lorenzo, a UNESCO World Heritage site built in 1306 by Tommaso Sanseverino, is rich in artistic and architectural elements.

Padula Sacra is founded on the idea of ​​a community that fosters talent and seeks to both enhance its architectural elements with the help of new technologies and support the fight against depopulation in the historic center with a specific and clear cultural, social, and community-building initiative. The enhancement of places of worship and the need to foster a sense of community are the guiding principles of the Marcellianum project – The Journey of Western Lucania: from the Baptistery to the Sanctuaries.