f Anjou. This prince had gone to the assistance of St. Louis of France against the Saracens, when, on the Eve of St. Lawrence, August 9, 1270, he encountered a great storm ; the sailors, remembering the feast then being celebrated at Scala, prayed to the saint, after which the storm subsided, and in the following engagement the Moors were defeated. On his return Charles presented this mitre to S. Lorenzo in. acknowledgment of the aid he had received.
An enamelled chalice bears the date 1332. The pulpit was transferred to the Cathedral from the church of Tutti i Sarni, by the Coppola family in 1580. This family has already been referred to at Ravello, with which place, as the tomb of Marianella shows, they were connected through marriage with the Rufoli. They resided at Scala, and were prosperous merchants, who shared the vicissitudes of their time.
One of their race, Antonio Coppola, Count of Sarno, was favoured greatly by Ferdinand I. of Aragon. This monarch wished to procure the succession for his cruel and detested son. Suspecting his secretary Petrucci and Antonio Coppola of a desire to bring in RenÚ of Anjou, he planned their destruction, but meanwhile, pretending great friendship, consented to the marriage of Marco, son of Antonio Coppola,
with his niece, the daughter of Antonio Piccolo-mini, and arranged for the nuptial celebration in the Castel Nuovo at Naples, in 1486. During the festivities the two nobles were summoned to the presence of the king, seized and imprisoned.
Their houses were searched and despoiled, an enormous amount of gold, weapons, and stuffs being taken in triumph on carts to the Castel Nuovo, in spite of the opposition of the barons. Many executions followed, and on May 11, 1487, the secretary and his two sons were beheaded, the populace standing by bareheaded and in profound silence. The Count of Sarno obtained permission to take leave of his two - sons, when he told them how he had gained wealth and distinction by his own exertions, whereas the favour granted by the King had been suddenly withdrawn, and urged them to trust to their own abilities and never seek to regain the rank of which his execution would deprive them. To one he gave his chain, to the other his breviary, all that he still possessed, and then died bravely. Marco, the intended bridegroom, entered the Church, and became Bishop of Monte Peloso ; but Filippo entered the army, and was executed for participation in the endeavour to free the imprisoned Duke of Calabria.
Another hamlet, higher up the valley, but also forming part of Scala, is S. Pietro di Castagna, formerly S. Pietro di Campoleone, where Angelo Trara founded a hospital in 1320, called Lo Speciale di S. Angelo dei Trari, reserving to himself the right to nominate one inmate of the institution, and one person to share in the administration of his endowment. The hospital had ceased to exist by the fifteenth century, but its chapel remains. The steps have been roughly repaired by placing a granite column beneath them, and several portions of inscriptions and broken sarcophagi remain. In the interior is a fine stone to the memory of two brothers Trara, with an inscription in Lombard letters describing one who died in 1346 as an abbot, the other (died in 1374) as leaving the twelve children represented at the foot of the slab, each one with his or her name in Latin. Above an altar on the south side is a figure of St. Michael and the name of "Pauli di Sasso, 1358," already referred to with regard to this family and their connection with Ravello.
The path from this remote little church leads by scattered houses to the chestnut woods, the stream of the Dragone flowing far below, to which at evening files of women may be seen descending for their scanty supply of water, with which they toil up the steep banks and rocky paths. On the opposite height, concealed by trees and vineyards, are the ruins of the Castle of Ravello.
The roughness and steepness of the paths make the outlying hamlets somewhat difficult of access, but they will well repay a visit on account of the remains