the event. Contemporary age The town was severely damaged in the 1980 Irpinia earthquake. Main sights The Cathedral of San Donato, built in 1444, has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. The interior has four paintings depicting the four Evangelists, the work of an artist called Pallas in 1797. The church of Our Lady of Grace, has an altar in polychrome marble, with the portrait of Our Lady of Grace crowned in the centre. There is also the remains of the castle that belonged to Roger of Lauria. People Pietro Vezzi, philosopher and physician of the Schola Medica Salernitana. Thomas II, Bishop of Nocera in Apulia in 1328. Sichelman, a tenth-century figure mentioned in the Chronicon Salernitanum. He invented a stone-throwing siege engine for Gisulf I of Salerno. Giovanni Freda, president of the High Court. Vitale Luppo, conductor. Giacinto Maselli, distinguished scholar and poet. Andrea Angelo Zottoli, sinologist and Jesuit missionary, was born in Acerno in 1826 and died in Shanghai in 1902. His major work is the Cursus litteraturae sinicae (5 vols., 1879–82), including translation into Latin of the greatest works in prose and poetry in Chinese literature. Culture February is the month of the Picentine Carnival. 7 August is the feast day of the patron saint: Donatus, Bishop of Arezzo, who was martyred (according to the Martyrologium Hieronymianum) in 362 by Quadratian, a prefect of the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate. Celebrations include a procession of the saint, music in the square, stalls selling local produce and closing fireworks. The second Sunday of November is the Sagra of the chestnut: a foodstuff central to the traditional economy of the place. See also Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salerno-Campagna-Acerno Roman Catholic Diocese of Acerno References External links Official website Cities and towns in Campania