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On the solemn feast day of Saint Matthew, September 21, Marina di Casal Velino is filled with unique colors and atmospheres. Thanks to the still mild weather and the thinning of the colorful summer crowd, the town recaptures its traditional soul and pays homage to the patron saint of the Marina district with a celebration with a clear religious imprint, with celebrations and a procession of the faithful with the statue of the saint carried through the various districts of the town, but which does not disdain more playful and enjoyable atmospheres with musical events, stalls and food stands. Some people do not know the story of the relics of the Evangelist Apostle, patron saint of Salerno, which, before being transferred to the city in 954 AD, were jealously housed in the small church that still today welcomes the faithful, scholars and simple curious people in Casal Velino Marina in the place called "ad duo flumina".

According to a millenary tradition, the sacred remains of Saint Matthew, martyred in Ethiopia, were deposited here when, 300 years after his death, he was transported to Legio, a city in western Brittany, by some Breton merchants. The holy body remained there for about 40 years, until the Roman commander Gavinio took possession of the relics, claiming them and transporting them to Velia, his native land. With the decline of the ancient city of Velia, the traces of where the remains were kept were lost until - the legend tells - the Holy Apostle appeared in a dream to Pelagia, a woman who lived in the plain of Velia, urging her to encourage her monk son Athanasius to search for his body according to the indications received in the dream itself. Once these relics were recovered, Athanasius deposited them, according to the chronicles, in a church dedicated to the Holy Mother of God. It can be deduced from the writings that this small church can only be identified in the aforementioned chapel of Saint Matthew in Casal Velino Marina, as it is located right "ad duo flumina", that is, at the confluence of the Alento and Velino rivers, in the district of Lucania. In addition, the same church "ad duo fulmina" with the dedication to the Blessed Apostle Matthew is mentioned in a document dated 1096 and, to confirm these deductions, there is also the presence of a sarcophagus inside this site, used precisely to preserve sacred remains. For some years now, a real tourist itinerary has been reborn that retraces the steps of the Saint.

The route starts precisely from the chapel of Saint Matthew in Casal Velino, reopened to worship and restored thanks to the great contribution of two devotees: Alfonso Grieco and Alessandro Tortora, founders of the Association "La Via di San Matteo", of which they are respectively honorary president and president. "La Via di San Matteo" is therefore the path of a new pilgrimage that unites Casal Velino to the city of Salerno, through the journey that the relics of the Holy Apostle took in their translation: from Ascea to Casal Velino, then Rutino, Capaccio, and finally Salerno. It was Cardinal Renato Martino, emeritus president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who held a solemn eucharistic celebration in the rediscovered chapel of Saint Matthew, which rises on the visible Greek vestiges of the church of San Zaccaria in via Ad Duo Flumina in Casal Velino.