The main town of the "Costiera Amalfitana" (the part of coast on the Tyrrhenian sea which includes famous towns like Amalfi, Positano, etc.), it is mostly known in history having hosted the king of Italy, who escaped from Rome in 1943 after Italy nogitiated a peace with the Allies in World War II. A brief so-called "government of the South" was then established in the town. Some of the Allied landings during Operation Avalanche (the invasion of Italy) occurred near Salerno.