Scario is a town in the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park, a major hamlet of San Giovanni a Piro and a major tourist destination because of the quality of its water and its location. Many hypotheses have been advanced, about the origin of the name Scario, by various toponymy scholars. Some have wanted to derive the present toponym from the Greek word Skariòs = small shipyard, others have wanted to derive Scario from "unloading," in view of the fact that, in past times, in the absence of normal land routes and suitable means of communication, transport took place exclusively by sea by means of large sailing ships, and the place where loading and unloading took place was called "scario," syncopated with "unloading,". According to local tradition, around the year 1000 B.C.E., some Sabellian peoples would have come to these plains and, attracted by the mildness of the climate and the beauty of the site, would have transported their herds there and erected the altar of their deities.These peoples would have remained in these places for about five centuries, until, that is, the beginning of the great Hellenic colonial expansion in southern Italy. In 470 B.C.E., the Greeks of Clisthenes, in search of new lands to cultivate and new landing places for their trade, would be tossed by a furious storm into the Marina of the Olive Tree and put the peaceful Sabelli on the run, forcing them to take refuge in the mountains. Clisthenes, attracted by the charm of the landscape, so resembling that of the mother country, would have settled on the spot with his companions, giving rise to a small village to which he would have given the name Skaiòs, a term meaning "unpropitious," "unfavorable," indicating, evidently, the sad circumstance of the shipwreck. The existence of such a settlement is very reliable since, in 1924, during excavations carried out for the construction of the cemetery of Scario, some archaeological finds dating back to very remote times were discovered at the Marina dell’Olivo. From the port of Scario several excursions depart to one of the park’s most attractive locations: Punta degli Infreschi. The coast from Scario to Marina di Camerota is dotted with karst caves, coves reachable only from the sea and watchtowers. In addition, the waters in this part of the gulf are very clear and rich in marine flora and fauna, probably due to the karst nature of the rocks and the consequent presence of underwater springs of fresh water and lower temperature.
