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BELVEDERE OF ST. COSTABILE

Via Gioacchino Murat, 84048, Castellabate (SA)

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Reach places

TRANSPORTS

  • CAR

    Via the A1/E45 motorway, exit Battipaglia. Take SS 18 Tirrena Inferiore and SP15/SP15a towards Strada Provinciale Adolfo Cilento/SP61 in Castellabate

  • BUS

    From Salerno take bus line 034 'San Marco di Castellabate' to Asilo Matarazzo, then proceed on foot

  • TRAIN

    Take the line to Agropoli-Castellabate. Proceed with bus line 099 stopping at Asilo Matarazzo. Proceed on foot to the belvedere

The square of... Benvenuti al Sud!

Costabile Gentilcose was a Lucanian monk, born to a humble family in Tresino, a hamlet of Castellabate, between 1069 and 1070. While still an adolescent he entered the Benedictine monastery of the Holy Trinity in Cava and his education and spiritual formation was entrusted to St. Leo. From January 1119, with the title of “Abbas constitutus”, he flanked St. Peter Pappacarbone in the leadership of the abbey of Cava. In October 1122, St. Peter handed over the pastoral staff to him, appointing him his successor.

With the authorisation of duke William, on 10 October 1123 he began the construction of the Castle of the Angel known as “Castrum Abatis” in Cilento, later to become “Castellabate” for the defence of the local population from the incursions of the African Saracens who, in 1113, had devastated and plundered the Cilento territory. After his death, the fortification works were continued by his successor, the Benedictine blessed Simeon.

Located at the entrance to the small village, the belvedere is now the entry point to the characteristic village. This small square has a beautiful view of the hamlets below lapped by the sea and is dominated by the Abbot's Castle.

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  • During his brief abbey period, of a mild and humble character, St. Constable preferred to guide his monks by example and gentleness, so much so that he was given the affectionate title of “operimentum fratruum” and when he died he was already the object of popular worship on the basis of the miracles attributed to him.
  • Despite this, his successor, abbot Simeon, did not have St. Constable's body buried in the church, giving credence to some rumours about the holy abbot, according to which before his death he did not tell his brethren where he had hidden a considerable sum of money he had accumulated through charity.
  • Later, the Saint's body was moved to the St. Alferius cave, when abbot Simeon was told of the adventure of the monk John, helmsman of the monastery's ship, in danger of sinking in the Sicilian Channel. Exhausted by fatigue, the monk John had fallen asleep when St. Constable appeared to him in a dream, warning him of the imminent danger and announcing the imperishable protection of the ships and his monastery. In 1648, the tomb of St. Constable was moved back from its original position and placed under the altar of the Blessed Sacrament, where it still rests today.
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Glimpses and perspectives

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