On 21 September, in Salerno, we celebrate the feast of San Matteo, one of the 4 evangelists, who is the patron saint of the city.

The feast starts at 6:00 p.m.: some of the most important streets of the city are closed to traffic, to allow the passage of the procession, which:

– leaves from the Cathedral,
– walks through the historic center,
– arrives on the main street (Corso Vittorio Emanuele),
– and goes back to Via Roma (the road between the historic center and the waterfront).
– Finally the procession returns inside the Cathedral.

This is a very beautiful procession to see, especially the first part, in the afternoon, which takes place in the small streets of the historic center.

Many people flock to the streets of the center, and after dinner, wait for midnight on the waterfront to watch a beautiful fireworks show.

In many of the restaurants and sandwich shops of the centre it will be possible to find “a special”, that is, a dish added specifically for this occasion: these are always dishes based on spleen (tradition says that a taste of spleen – “a mevza” in dialect – is something that must always be done for San Matteo!)