We came across the Duomo in Salerno, too. The portico looked more like a relic than that of a active church. There are very old sarcophagi, frescos and bass reliefs so worn away they were mere suggestions.

Inside were beautifully intricate decorative mosaics pulpits.

I’d forgotten how there are separate shrines along the side aisles of Catholic churches, and how  ornate and graphically macabre the imagery tends to be.  I found myself thinking how appropriate the imagery in the climactic scene of Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet was.

In Salerno, after exploring the Duomo, we found an exhibition of the Painted Presepe by Salerno artist Mario Carotenuto in a dark room open to the street. We just chanced to look in and see that we could enter. It was eerie – a nativity scene made with 157 life-size cut-outs of people – religious staples, historical people and everyday people – painted on really thick plywood.