Eyewitnesses said the whirling column of air and water lifted containers in the city's port area. There were no reports of any injuries.
The rare phenomenon was observed at about 15:00 local time (14:00 GMT), officials say.
A waterspout is an intense columnar vortex that occurs over a body of water and quickly dissolves over dry land.
Footage of Tuesday's waterspout has been widely shared on social media, with some users describing the vortex as "incredible".
Tromba d'aria a Salerno,
— ALLA.HABABA (@HababaAlla) November 20, 2018
poco fa
Foto di Nunzio Senatore e Pia Petrone pic.twitter.com/iIzGJtCrUw
#Maltempo Le immagini della tromba marina che ha colpito il litorale di #Salerno nel primo pomeriggio di oggi 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/jG707GPBJp
— Rai Radio1 (@Radio1Rai) November 20, 2018
BIG waterspout reported in Vietri sul Mare (SA), Campania, south Italy today, Nov 20! Report: https://t.co/PVKjKSy9HM meteo pic.twitter.com/4XTR9wCARH
— severe-weather.EU (@severeweatherEU) November 20, 2018
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