Excursion - Mount St Costanzo

Mount St Costanzo, with its characteristic conical shape, represents the highest hill (mt.495) in the district and is easily reacheable from Termini. If you are lazy you can reach it by car and then walk along the last stretch as far as the sanctuary.

History

History and popular faith are entwined in this place with a breathtaking view over the surrounding hills, numerous farmhouses, the Lattari Mountains, Vesuvius, and the Gulf of Salerno.

Up to the end of the 15th century, the Mount used to be called Canutario, as its top, made of chalky rock, gave it the appearance of a white-haired man. Its present name is due to the chapel which sits perched on its top, dedicated to San Costanzo, bishop and protector of the Island of Capri, built around 1560 by the families Vespoli, Amitrano and Starace.

The chapel, reachable via stone steps, the remains of a paved road, which some historians attribute to the Greeks, is still today a place of worship for the people of Termini.
On the 14th of May is the liturgical festival of San Costanzo, the statue of the bishop of Capri is taken form the church of Termini to the small chapel at the top of the hill. In July, a solemn procession, with numerous laic brotherhoods , takes the Saint back to the original see, with bands playing music along the streets and fireworks illuminating the sky.

There are varying stories as to the origins of this tradition, but it proves the physical strength of the people of Termini. One legend claims the inhabitants of Massa competed against those from Termini for the cult of St. Costanzo and they built a small sanctuary in an impervious place not easily accessible.

Obviously the legend has no historical ground, but many studies have led to the belief that on the top of Mount San Costanzo, where the small chapel stands, a pagan temple had been built, and the inhabitants of the Sorrentine peninsula used to go hold processions to it.