Qibla direction in Salerno

How to face the Qibla in Salerno

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 34.7° towards south: the result is the bearing of 124.7°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Salerno.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in Salerno, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Salerno to Mecca points to 132.1° (south-east), 7.4° away from the correct 124.7°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 7 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.

The value of 124.7° is the direction in which the shortest route from 40.6755° N, 14.7933° E sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from Salerno to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 3,183 km from Salerno as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 2,924 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 15 min, although most pilgrims from Salerno connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Salerno run 2 hours behind Mecca in winter and 1 hour behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Salerno rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Salerno

On 343 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Salerno while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 15 January 2027 it happens at 08:05 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Salerno during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Salerno: at 11:18 and 11:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Salerno compared with other cities

Compared with Rome, 234 km away, the Qibla in Salerno is turned 1.4° further clockwise (124.7° against 123.3°), and Mecca is 234 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Naples (48 km), prays towards 124.2°, a difference of 0.5°.

Across the 42 cities in Italy on this site, the Qibla ranges from 115.2° in Cagliari to 130.0° in Trieste, a spread of 14.8°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Italy.

Qibla in cities near Salerno

• Naples124.2° · 48 km
• Foggia127.0° · 108 km
• Bari128.5° · 181 km
• Pescara126.4° · 204 km
• Taranto128.1° · 209 km
• Rome123.3° · 234 km