Acerno, is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the region of Campania in south-western Italy. Geography Acerno is a large village located 40 km north-east of the provincial capital of Salerno at 727 metres above sea level in the valley of the Tusciano, a river which rises on the slopes of Monte Polveracchio. It lies within the Parco regionale Monti Picentini, a regional park of the Monti Picentini group in the Southern Apennines. The neighbouring municipalities are Giffoni Valle Piana, Montecorvino Rovella, Calabritto, Senerchia, Montella, Bagnoli Irpino and Olevano sul Tusciano. The communal territory has an elevation varying between 400 and 1790 metres above sea level. Outside of the town itself it is entirely uninhabited by humans: there are no satellite hamlets or even scattered dwellings under permanent habitation. It is rich in flora, however, with forests of maple, oak, chestnut, hazel, beech and alder, while the fauna includes golden eagles, dormice, wild cats, otters and wolves. The town therefore acts as a base for excursions to the mountains Monte Cervialto, Monte Polveracchio and Monte Acella the peaks reachable after hours of walking and climbing. Although Acerno does attract tourists, the economy is largely based on agriculture: especially sheep, cattle and pig farming, and cereal cultivation. History Acerno was founded by refugees from Picentia (today Pontecagnano), which had been destroyed by the Romans after the Second Punic War. The earliest known documentary reference however, preserved in the archives of the abbey of Cava de’ Tirreni, dates from 1027 and refers to fruit growing in a place called Acerno. The origins of the name are uncertain, but a plausible derivation is from acer, the Latin for the maple tree: this was the view of Girolamo Olivieri, bishop of Cerno from 1525 to 1539, who reported to the Holy See that 'the town is called Acerno from the multitude of maples.' Feudalism The comune was the centre of a feud for a long time amongst noble families and throughout the Middle Ages passed hands many times during the Kingdom of Naples. Around 1150, Guido da Acerno inherited the comune from his father Tommaso. On 17 August 1254, Pope Innocent IV granted Philip d'Acerno possession of Acerno, Castronuovo and various feudal estates. In 1272 Charles I of Anjou granted Acerno to his eldest son Charles, Prince of Salerno. In 1298 it fell under the ownership of Roger of Lauria