We are three girls and we attend the 3rd G class of Scuola Media in Cetara.
We want to tell you about our village and how we spend our day in this pleasant place of the Amalfitan Coast.
 

Here is a printing dates 1831, you can observe the ancient Cetara.
The photos, instead, show the present Cetara and the tower.
Cetara, our village, was founded about the eighth century AD. The first historical news date back to 879, when a terrifying Saracen incursion took place. The Saracen commander was Sinan Pascia. Many inhabitants died and many fell into captivity, during this incursion. The "tower", the most ancient monument, remembers that period... built to observe the coast and to defend the village from the Saracen assaults.
 

The Gulf of Salerno

Casale, the northern part of the village

Falerio Mount


The beach behind the port

 Cetara is situated in an inlet of the gulf of Salerno, 10 km from Salerno and 16 km from Amalfi. The village has an area of 4.91 km2, counts 2500 inhabitants and is surrounded by hills degrading towards the sea."The terraces" with the cultivation of the famous lemons are the characteristic of Cetara and of all the Amalfitan Coast. There are three large beaches crowded of tourists in summer. Mount Falerio, 682 metres high, that overhangs the village, is remembered in the "Argonautiche" by Apollonio Rodio.
 

"the cianciole"
"the iron boats" as we call the motorships
Some fishermen intent on arranging their boats on the beach
The name of our village, Cetara, derives from the latin terms "cataria" or "cetarii". The first word means "tunny-fishing nets" and the second one "fishermen" or "fish sellers". Exactly the fishing and its preservation are the principal economic resource of our village. Our tunny fishing fleet ....... is made up of 8 motorships that are able to fish 1500-2000 tons of tune in all the Mediterranean. The numerous "cianciole" wood boats, furnished with "lampare" (that are lamps situated stern of th e boat) fish along the coast and in all the Gulf of Salerno the delicious anchovies our village is famous for. The tuna and the anchovies are preserved in oil or with salt according with the ancient traditions handed down during the centuries.
 
The photos show our school low it was in 1937 and how it is now.
 
Our school is situated in an old and imposing building that was a Franciscan Convent. Franciscan Friars lived there from 1636 to 1910, and their presence was very important during the historic, cultural and moral events of our village. On the first floor of this building there is "The Town Hall". In another part there is a "Polyfunctional room" dedicated to "M. Benincasa" a Cetarian citizen, fond of poetry, a restaurant and the Church of Saint Francis.
 
Photo 1 - A typical lane of our village Photo 2 - Rome square Photo 3 - It's 8,20, we go into school
Our day starts at 7,15 a.m. when we get up. We get ready in a hurry, we quickly eat something and go aut. Going down along the lanes and the stairs that characterize our village we meet in Rome square and there we wait for the bell ring. This is the moment to have the last chat before the begenning of the lessons.
 
Photos - School children in their classroom during the lessons.
In our school there are six classes and two courses, F and G. Every course consists of three classes. The pupils that attend the school are from the age of 11 to 14. At the end of the third year the pupils have an exam to be admitted to the Secondary School or to the work world.
 
It's 10,30 a.m.: break time. Two sights of the "campetto" the name given to the open space not far from our school where we have our Physical Education lessons because there is not a gymnasium in our school.
Our school day lasts from 8,30 a.m. to 1,20 p.m. six days a week; on Tuesday and Thursday we come back to school in the afternoon from 2,45 to 5,45 p.m.. In these hours we have special activities such as drama, cineforum or we examine closely particular subjects. Therefore our school week lasts 36 hours, 30 in the morning and 6 in the afternoon. There are moments we like particularly: the break of then minutes between the second and the third hour; it is the moment we can stretch our legs, chat freely and... why not... play moderately. We like the Physical Education lessons, two hours a week, very much.
Our school often organises handball and volleyball tourneys and athletic contests; we participate enthusiastically and many pupils win cups and medals.
 
Schoolchildren come out of school. Schoolchildren come back home.
   
Our school-day ends at 13,20 p.m. We come back home for lunch with our family. After lunch we generally have our homework, sometimes with some friends. After studying we go out and meet our friends again.
 
Here are our places of resort: the gardens facing the Church of St. Francis and the harbour; the bar named "lo chalet" on the beach where we have the famous pizza; the various bars you can taste pleasant ice creams; the pier we walk along and where a statue of Virgin Mary rises to protect the sailors.
We almost always spend our afternoons, and evenings in the open air. The climate is quite mild even in winter with year round sunshine. The favourite places where we spend our sparetime are: the usual "campetto" where boys organize football and handball matches, videogame rooms and the harbour. Here we spend many hours to exchange confidences.

Saturdays afternoons are the longest and the finest of the week the next day we haven't to go to school and we can come back home later; we generall y go back home about 10,30 p.m. but on Saturdays we are out even until 11,30 p.m. specially in Summer.
 
We have ended!
We have told you something about us and Cetara. We hope we haven't bored but we have made you come and see us...

Antonia, Elena, Flora and all the schoolchildren of "Scuola Media" in Cetara.

 
Lavoro coordinato dai proff: Filomena Carleo,
Rosa Gambardella,
Rosalba Mancini,
Antonino Ricciardi
   

Scuola media statale - corso Umberto 1°, 1 - 84010 Cetara (SA)
Tel. 039 089 261293 - Fax 039 089 261293
Internet: http://www.bdp.it/~samm0001
E-mail: samm0001@bdp.it

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