The main town of the "costiera amalfitana" (the part of coast on the Tyrrhenian sea which includes famous towns like Amalfi, Positano, etc.), it is mostly known in history having hosted the king of Italy, who escaped from Rome in 1943 after the armistice. A brief so-called "government of the South" was then established in the town.
Salerno hosted the oldest university in Europe.