Strabo wrote that the headland, harbor and river Pixunte have the same name, reporting, such as Diodorus, that the village was founded by Micito when, tutor to the children of Anassila, ruledReggio and Messina (476-472 BC).

In the area existed anOenotrian settlement before of the Greek colonization, to be placed inage even older, though it is possible that it also sufferedinfluences of Syrians, looking for a safe outlet Tyrrhenian for itstrades. What is certain is that its coins were beaten in incusebetween second half of the sixth and early fifth century B.C. for the bull sybariticand the legend Sirino-Pixoes attesting also a «simmachia» with Sirino, a city that remembers Siri. But, if the geological structure of the soil contributed to the formationthere of a natural breast, in the secondary, the silting of harbours in the sixth century BC, was favored in place by the succession of significant flooding.

For the name it is to be presumedthat the hill, to the wealth of boxwoods anywhere in its territory, took the name of Pixous (where there is plenty that evergreen).Silio Italico informs us of the participation in the battle of Canne (2 August 216 BC) of the bussentini who were not afraid to make a war with gnarled sticks the enemy armed with spears and swords. Like of Ve1ia, Policastro was never in possession of Hannibal. Livio speaks about deductions of colonies in Policastro, including 300 families.
 In 186 the consul Postumius Spurrier told the Senate to have found a deserted city that was then (89-87 BC) ascribed to Pomptina tribes. After the reform of Diocletian, also the territory of Bussento was attributed to Bruzio.Tradition informs about the elevation of the city in the diocese forfoundation, such as those of Velia and Vibone by ApostlePaul (but disciples), as the seat of political and administrative district. It is mentioned in the famous letter 'Quoniam Velina' of Pope Gregory to the to Bishop Felice from Paestum, fled, as has been said, in Byzantine Agropoli to escape to the longobard hordes of Zotone.

With it the great pope invited the bishop to visit Velia, Policastro and Blanda without pastors, to re-establish the cult and to keep them in apostolic administration, jurisdiction that,after the last Bishop Sabbatius (640) continued to exist,except for a very short period in Xl century, by the bishops of Paestum upthe early twelfth century. On the trichora Byzantine of Palaiokastro ofVI century was later built the Romanesque cathedral, properlywhere was the ancient Roman forum.
On October 22, 1067 the archbishop of Salerno Alfano, with the title conferred (bubble March 24, 1058) by Pope Stephen IX (and X), reconstituted the Diocese of Policastro expanding the boundaries.As it is widely shown elsewhere the territory included between the Alento and Bussento had always been held sacred by the «sacro palatio», by Government of Salerno, to him dependence.

In the Archive of Cava there are some documents concerning Policastro, among which the important sale of a censile that informs us ofLandulf, «olim domini de Policastro». In the same year 1136, but in March, in Policastro, Gemma, daughter of Leo, said Maiozza, with her husband Nicholas son of Bonifacio, in the presence of Judge Peter «de civitate Paleocastro» sold to Gemma’s brother, John, the middle of a chestnut out of the city of Salerno for 10 tarì.
At the same Archive there are other documents of the '300 about Policastro.The reconstruction of the town of Policastro was intensified at the time of King Ruggiero (walls, castle) and completed in the thirteenth century. It seems that theloca1 county had been granted by King Roger to his bastard son Simon. This count of Policastro was among the most powerful feudal lord of the Principality in Norman age. He was the grandson of Queen Adelaide, the lineage Aleramica, widow of Roger I, the Great Count, who in1113 married Baudouin I, King of Jerusalem. Simon, then, was also a relative of King Wilhelm I. In 1155 the king was in Salerno.In 1290 the king granted to William Pellegrino and Leonardo Alatri, in equal portions, the feud of Sanza as prizeFor the things made for the return of Policastro in sovereign power.

In the same year the Count d'Artois, concerned about the economic conditions of Policastro, whose residents had no food to eat, ordered the purchase of wheat, barley, and millet for the amount of 180 golden ouncesto transport and sell the premises.On September 12, 1292, from St. Erasmus, Prince Charles gave «to Benetenutum de Policastro» 4 golden ounces to help him to make free «Quorundam filiorum suorum, quos eorumdem hostium carcer includit».
On 21 May 1293 the prince ordered that with taxesPolicastro had to pay the expenses for the first defense of the city. In February 1294, from Naples, he ordered to the captain of Policastro to require the rights of Bagliva and the gabelles. On May 11, 1294, from Naples, King Charles granted an annual allowance of eight golden ounces to the bishop of Policastro for damages suffered.That same day the king ordered to collectors of customs duties of Amalfi to pay annually to Bishop of Policastro 8 golden ounces, in compensation for the damages suffered.
On April 26, 1296, from Naples,he ordered to the castle of Castel Capuano to send crossbows and forty «quadrille» to castles of Policastro and Roccagloriosa.In Policastro, over that of S. Giovanni a Piro, there was a grange of S. Lorenzo of Padula. In local port, such as that of Agropoli and «maritima Pestarum» was stowed grain to Genoaby traders who bought in places, as well as from Capaccio from the plain of local accounts.As I said in 1455 the prime minister of King FerranteAragon, Antonello de Petruciis, had purchased in1471 Rofrano and S. Giovanni a Piro, Torre Orsaia, Bosco and the St. Mauro, bringing together all these estates in the county of Policastro that had purchased for d. 12,000, which then, with the consent of the king, joined his son Giovanni Antonio.
It should be remembered that in the late of '400 Castle of Policastro was rebuilt by Giuliano Fiorentino. The king then appointed the chief minister of the Royal of Novi,barony which was then immediately bought by Antonello, with Gioi andMandia. But when King Ferrante suspected that Antonello wasparticipant in the conspiracy of the barons, ordered the arrest and replacedoffice with the elegant Latin poet Giovanni Pontano.
He tried to behead the minister (Market Square, May 11 1487), and then made torture the children, forcing the last son of Antonello, Giovan Battista archbishop of Taranto, to give up the diocesi (1489) also depriving the abbeys of S. Giovanni a Piro and St. Mary of Pattano which were granted to his bastard son Alfonso who retained the revenues until 1499. This situation advantaged the Carrafa brothers. John Carrafa, vice-chancellor of the king, bought Rofrano, Alfano and Policastro,

Charles bought Campora and Antonio Castelnuovo. The title of Count was granted by King Ferdinand in 1496 toJohn Carrafa. In early 1507, to Robert (II) Sanseverino was born an heir who, in homage to his uncle the king of Spain, was called Ferrante. On 28 February, the king granted to Roberto, among other things, the right of all routes from Salerno to Policastro and excise ofsilk from Sele to Policastro, of which Roberto appointed collector Petrino de Magnia of the barony of Cilento. The feud was still held by the Carrafa family in the '600, when (Jan. 16, 1625) was granted to one of it the title of Duke on the land of Forli. Ettore Carrafa,that the title of duke had joined the title of Prince of the SR Empire(13 October 1708), was still held in 1725. At his death (1428) his titles and properties passed to his son Gerard (June 161764)  who married the relative Hippolyta Carafa, only daughter ofDomenico, who had obtained from King Charles III (17 March 1738) the title of Duke of Camera.
This too, with such securities, passed to the daughter Teresa who married Gennaro Carafa, prince of Roccella, widower of Silvia Ruffo. On October 3, 1770 Teresa hadPolicastro headed with the title of count, Forli with title of duke (transferred on Ispani).