Fossacesia to Ortona

 

Fossacesia embodies the bright reality of a beautiful and prosperous country, several times called “Earth of Venus”, in honor of the goddess Venus Conciliatrice, of which archaeological evidence is still visible.

There are many monuments and historic buildings that enrich this charming town, a small pearl of the Trabocchi Coast.

The Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere stands on the promontory of Venus, a monumental complex of national character.  On the area of the present basilica once stood a temple dedicated to Venus Conciliatrice, octagonal and very large, with a large porch with six columns and a solemn staircase. Between 529 and 543 some monks arrived in Fossacesia from the monastery of Montecassino, led by a Father Martino. Probably, he wasn’t a monk of the Order, but a hermit who lived on the Apennines, where there weren’t many followers of Christianity. In the name of the fight against pagan cults, he wanted the demolition of the temple of Venus and, in its place, the construction of a small Christian church with an adjoining house for the monks. Ruins of the temple, fragments of columns and decorative elements can be seen at the entrance of the cloister on the right side of the basilica.  The events of this first monastic nucleus are not very well known: It is only known that the monastery was dependent first of Montecassino, then of Farfa and then became independent in 1004.

Around the year 1000, following the belief of the end of the world, the Christian population made many offerings to churches and convents. The Lombard count Trasmondo I gave San Giovanni many lands and castles, as well as half of the revenues of the underlying port of Venus. His son Trasmondo II made even more remarkable donations and expanded the first Church. The abbot of San Giovanni, Oderisio I, was thus able to enlarge the monastery. The splendor of the current abbey is due to Abbot Oderisio II the Great, who, from 1165, built the imposing basilica of St. John (50 meters long, 20 wide) and adorned with statues and frescoes both the Church and the crypt below. The Benedictine monks of San Giovanni in Venere soon accepted the Cistercian Rule. In the sixteenth century they replaced the monks of the Order of St. Filippo Neri and in 1610 the Jesuits.

In 1881, the Abbey was declared a national monument and assigned to the “Filippini” in custody. The following decades marked its progressive degradation, caused by poor maintenance, some earthquakes and, finally, by the bombings of the Second World War. Since 1954 it has been the headquarter of the Passionist Fathers, promoters of important maintenance and renovation works. Today it preserves the monumental facade and the basilica plan with three naves dating back to the extension in Gothic-Cistercian style started in 1165 and completed during the thirteenth century in Gothic – Cistercian style.  The facade is characterized by a marble portal of 1230, called the moon, decorated with high reliefs depicting stories of the life of John the Baptist.

 

In addition to the Benedictine Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere, Fossacesia hosts the ancient church of San Silvestro, in the populous hamlet of Villa Scorciosa dating back to the 11th century.

 

There are also many historic buildings in the city. These include Palazzo Contini, built in the 18th century, and Palazzo Mayer, built in 1835 by Don Michelangelo Mayer and enlarged in 1852 on the side of Via Polidori. The Palazzo now hosts the Museum of War and Peasant Arts. Of extraordinary beauty is also the “Palazzo del Parco dei Priori”, an elegant nineteenth-century villa, located in front of the Abbey of San Giovanni in Venere. Restored by the City and open to the public since 2012, it now hosts many artistic and cultural events. In the city center is the Church of the Rosary of 1876, the old town hall, the parish church of San Donato, whose bell tower dates to the end of 1200 and the Fountain of the five pipes of the end of 1800.

 

FOOD: The cuisine of Fossacesia is characterized by the attachment of people to their land and the sea and the link with natural products. It is a simple, humble cuisine, which has managed to pass down the most ancient recipes over the centuries.

Located along the Wine Route “Tratturo del Re”, Fossacesia offers its attentive gastronaut Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC and other excellent wines from Pecorino, Passerina, Cococciola, but also extra virgin olive oils from the milling of olives Gentile di Chieti, Crognalegno, Intosso and Cucco.

A typical local product is citrus extra virgin olive oil, for whose production the olives are ground directly with lemons or oranges of the Costa dei Trabocchi, to produce an oil with a soft and delicate taste, ideal to enrich every dish of meat and fish.

Many are the delicacies of Fossacesian cuisine: from pizzas and foje, an ancient dish of peasant origin consisting of an unleavened pizza made with corn flour and boiled vegetables cooked in a pan, with extra virgin olive oil, dried peppers and “sardelle”, to “pallotte cace e ove”, egg and cheese meatballs, fried and served in sauce. Typical of the territory is a pizza with peppers and sardines, a dish traditionally on the tables of the Fossacesian people on the All-Souls’ Day.

For Christmas are “crispelle”, or pancakes from their typical tubular shape, based on flour, potatoes, and water, embellished with their sweet version of raisins and anise seeds. Famous confectionery specialties are the “sise di Venere”, soft pasta cakes stuffed with custard, the “celli pieni”, delicious biscuits made with oil, wine and flour stuffed with grape jam, chocolate, and almonds and bocconotti of Fossacesia, shortcrust pastry, filled with jam, lemon peel, cinnamon, chocolate, and almonds.

 

Ortona

 

The origins of Ortona are uncertain. Presumably, it was first inhabited by the Frentani, an Italic population. In 2005, during works near the Castle, a Bronze Age settlement was discovered, and the Roman town largely coincided with this first settlement. Some sections of paved roads and urban walls, as well as some archaeological findings are the only remains of this period.

 

In 1302 the Croatian lord George Šubić raided Ortona and extracted tribute from its citizens. In the first half of the 15th century its walls were built, and during this period Ortona fought with the nearby town of Lanciano in a fierce war that ended in 1427. On June 30, 1447, ships from Venice destroyed the port of Ortona; consequently the King of Sicily at that time commissioned the construction of a Castle to dominate the renovated port.

 

The city tour starts from Terravecchia promontory, the hamlet of sailors, overlooking the Adriatic with its quaint narrow streets, the alleyways, the remains of ancient walls built to defend the city and the Aragonese Castle, an imposing defensive building wanted by King Alfonso of Aragon around 1452, after the Venetians had destroyed the port. Built on the ruins of an ancient fortress, with five lateral towers, it was damaged in World War II and in 1946 a landslide caused the collapse of the northern wing.

 

The ancient Corso Matteotti overlooks Corvo Palace (XVI-XVII centuries). The ground floor houses the Enoteca Regionale d’Abruzzo (Regional Winery of Abruzzo) and the first floor is the headquarters of the National Tosti Institute with the Musical Museum of Abruzzo. In the museum, through original photographs, letters, score notes, books and furniture that belonged to Francesco Paolo Tosti, you can trace the life of the musician and composer, born in Ortona in 1846 and died in Rome in 1916. He had a prolific output of romanze and chamber music published by Ricordi and lived for over thirty years in London as a singing teacher for the British Royal Family.

 

Strolling along Corso Matteotti, you see the Cathedral of St. Thomas the Apostle and its square. Since September 6, 1258, it has enshrined the remains of the Apostle Thomas, stolen from the Aegean island of Chios, by Leon of Ortona during a naval expedition.  The Patron Saint’s Day falls on the first weekend of May, and from Saturday to Monday, visiting the tomb, you can obtain the plenary indulgence of St. Thomas’ forgiveness. Three chapels of the Cathedral have been destined to the Diocesan Museum, which houses important works of painting, sculpture and jewelery dating from the fifteenth century to the nineteenth century. The church is also the finish line of the Way of the Apostle Thomas, a religious-cultural itinerary of over 450 km that follows the pilgrimage of the most important spiritual locations of Abruzzo.

After walking through the alleys of the old quarter, you go down the long promenade overlooking the sea, the Orientale, and you reach Farnese Palace, built by the Duchess Margaret of Austria, daughter of Charles V and wife of Ottavio Farnese, when, after the purchase of the city in February 1582, she decided to establish her residence in Ortona. Lady Margaret chose the most picturesque place of the city and the building project was entrusted to the Roman architect Giacomo Della Porta. The Palace is home to the “Basilio and Michele Cascella” Gallery, which exhibits the works of three generations of the famous family of artists.

 

Continuing along the Orientale, you enter the Terranova hamlet, where you find the “F.P.Tosti” theatre, the cultural heart of the city. It was designed in 1927 and funded by the engineer Tommaso Pincione of Ortona. It was inaugurated in 1930 and for several decades was privately owned.

The square of the Theatre divides it from the Oratorium of the Miraculous Crucifix and of the Sant’Anna complex which houses, on the ground floor, the Public Library, and on the first floor, the MUBA (Museum of the Battle), which exhibits artifacts and documents on the dramatic battles that in December 1943 almost completely destroyed the city with more than 1,300 civilian victims, so as to be called by Winston Churchill, the “little Stalingrad”.

The Terranova hamlet closes the perimeter of the ancient walls at Porta Caldari; Via Constantinople leads upwards to the church of St. Mary of Constantinople, dating from the seventeenth century, while the original building is of the XIII century. In St. Francis Square there is the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, also rebuilt after the war; guarding the remains of the Blessed Lorenzo of Villamagna, who died in the convent of Ortona in 1535. On the hill of the San Donato hamlet, four kilometers south from the city centre, on the edge of the Adriatic Speedway16, stands the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery. There lie the mortal remains of 1,615 soldiers fallen in World War II, belonging to Canadian regiments, who paid the highest toll in the Battle of Ortona.

 

FOOD: Abruzzo is among the top 5 regions of Italy for the production of wines and in the countryside of the Province of Chieti, between the Adriatic and the mountain, lies 80% of the region’s vineyards: the diamond point of this territory being Ortona with its orographic structure and rolling hills, rich in rivers and streams, represents the best winemaking of Abruzzo in terms of quality and quantity. The wines, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Trebbiano, Cerasuolo, Pecorino, Passerina and Cococciola, are the expression of this land rich in tradition and innovations.

Besides the various private cellars, there are two wine growers’ cooperatives and a consortium of cooperatives for bottling present on the territory, all internationally acknowledged. Corvo Palace, in the historic centre of Ortona, hosts the Regional Wine Cellar of Abruzzo, where you can taste and buy a wide variety of local wines. Alongside the winemaking qualities, there is an equally unique and refined production of oil.

 

The cuisine of Ortona is the happy marriage between the products of the sea and those of the earth. Among the typical dishes you can find the brodetto, fish soup with tomatoes, peppers and EV olive oil, served in terracotta pots; baccalà e patate in umido, salted codfish and potato stew; broccoli e stoccafisso, broccoli and stockfish; baccalà e peperoni, salted codfish and peperoni; seppie e piselli, squid and peas; finally, spaghetti con pelosi o frutti di mare, spaghetti with crab or seafood, and frittura di pesce dell’Adriatico, fried fish of the Adriatic. Tied to the rural tradition is pasta alla chitarra, handmade pasta with mixed meat ragù, cardone in brodo di tacchino, cardoon in turkey soup, pallotte cace e ove, cheese dumplings (made of eggs, grated cheese and breadcrumbs), pizze e fuoije (sautéed mixed greens accompanied by cornbread).

Among the traditional desserts are the nevole, cone-shaped rolled wafers made with mosto cotto, oil and flour, flavoured with cinnamon and baked between two heated iron plates like the pizzelle, a re-elaborated version of the pizzelle of Abruzzo.

 

 

 

 

Teramo to San Salvo

 

FOOD - An incredible territory where nothing is missing, with products that come from the sea, hills and mountains such as Gran Sasso or Monte Piselli, it could only have a very rich traditional cuisine. Over 250 traditional dishes with a main dish – Le Virtù – that alone contains more than 50 ingredients.

Teramo cuisine has an immense variety of dishes: ranging from fish classics to meat traditions, up to many vegetables and fresh pasta, especially egg and strictly handmade pasta. Among these there is the Chitarra con le pallottine alla Teramana, a pasta prepared with the guitar, a special rectangular wooden frame, seasoned with meatballs.

Another elegant dish are the Scrippelle ‘mbusse teramane. In the dialect the word ‘mbusse' means “soaked” precisely because the scrippelle (very thin crepes made with water, flour and eggs) are wet with a rich and tasty meat broth that make them soft and tasty. And then, very common in Abruzzo, are the arrosticini, strictly made with sheep meat.

 

Le Virtu’ - The virtues are a super-rich soup of the first fruits of the season, expertly mixed with all the remains of the winter pantry and which is consumed on the first of May in Teramo. April 30 was considered by the peasant calendar to be the watershed between the end of winter and the beginning of the fertile season. Legend has it that the virtues are so called because they had to be prepared from 7 virgins, using 7 legumes, 7 aromas, 7 meats, 7 seasonal vegetables, 7 types of pasta, cooked all in 7 hours … 7, because there are 7 Christian virtues. In short, the virtues are a truly exceptional dish, normally to prepare it takes 7 to 10 days. In truth, for virtues we need over 50 ingredients, each family guards and jealously passes on its version of the recipe. To preserve the authenticity of the recipe, a group of experts and restaurateurs from Teramo have created a specification, also recognised by the Ministry of the Environment and Forest Policies. Available from the first of May until mid-month, the Virtues will steal your heart combined with an excellent Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo.

 

 

WINE - Speaking of Teramo wine, we cannot fail to mention the Consorzio Colline Teramane which protects the wine produced by the local Montepulciano vine, one of the two DOCG wines of the Abruzzo region.  It is an extraordinary wine, intense ruby red in color with slight purple hues, characteristic, ethereal, intense aroma; the taste is dry, full, robust but harmonious and velvety, the hints are those of ripe red fruit and spices.

 

POINTS OF INTEREST

Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta - It is the greatest historical monument of the city built, after the destruction of the Ancient Cathedral, between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In Romanesque-Gothic style, the Cathedral has a unique doorway between the twentieth century with Cosmatesque mosaics and sculptures attributed to Nicola da Guardiagrele. The interior has three naves with columns of reuse from the Roman era. Worth noticing is the Baroque Chapel of San Berardo inside which is located the Polyptych of Jacobello del Fiore (XIV century). On the main altar valuable frontal in embossed silver by Nicola da Guardiagrele (early fifteenth century).
Roman Theatre - The most representative public monument of the Roman City of Interamnia Praetutiorm. It is one of the oldest public buildings for performances (theatrical, but not only) in the Roman world. It was built in the very early imperial era and could hold about 2,600 spectators comfortably seated. The exterior is characterized by an architecture with large blocks, opus quadratum, of three superimposed orders (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian) with a porticus towards the City.

Castle Della Monica - Inserted within a small village in neo-Gothic style, the Castle appears as an authentic and well preserved medieval building, but, it is not so. The Castello Della Monica bears the name of its creator, builder and owner Gennaro Della Monica, painter from Teramo, born in 1836 and died in 1917  and is the heart of the artist’s project, here we see expressed all the passion for art, creativity and his imagination, he conceived all the solutions and details, structural and decorative,  interior and exterior, from the paintings on the wall to the design of the garden, to the insertion of archaeological finds and authentic fragments.
Melatino Palace - Original stately building dating back to the thirteenth century belonged to the De Melatino family and today is home to the Tercas Foundation. The building is spread over three floors and is characterized, at the Rhine plant, by cross vaults and remains of an ancient portico with masonry columns, which support ogive arches.  From the entrances of the façade on the street, following the renovation of the Palace, you enter a space full of testimonies in which it is possible to read the successive stratifications: the double layer of the floors of a Roman domus, both of refined workmanship, mosaic the one and sectile the second, superimposed on the first.

Civic Art Gallery - Established in 1870, today preserves a considerable heritage of fourteenth century and fifteenth century wall paintings, coming from the churches and convents of Teramo, the place of honor belongs to the polyptych of Giacomo da Campli. In the current exhibition there are also three works by authors from the sixteenth to the twentieth century: Ribera, Preti, Giordano, De Mura, Solimena, Giaquinto, Conca, Gennaro Della Monica, Raffaello Pagliaccetti, Pasquale Celommi, Cesare Averardi, Giovanni Melarangelo, Venanzo Crocetti and Guido Montauti.

 

San Salvo

 

FOOD - San Salvo’s territory is rich in genuine products, that are the result of a millennium old heritage of rural and country knowledge, enriched during the Middle Ages by a great rural Cistercian tradition brought in this area by the monks of the SS Vito’s and Salvo’s Abbey. Among the many local products the olive stands out; its fruits are picked up before the full ripeness and processed in the same day, so that it gives the olive oil a fruity aroma, limpidness and a low rate of acidity.

The peach cultivation has a great importance in San Salvo and this fruit is exported in all Europe.

San Salvo boasts an high level food tradition with a huge variety of home made pasta, sweets, and sausage products like sausages, pepperoni, “soppressate”, “capicolli” and “ventricine”: these products are often home made, but in the last years their manufacturing production has a great success.

 

DRINK - The wine production has its excellences in some IGP wines such as the “Chardonnay della Provincia di Chieti”, the “Pecorino d’Abruzzo”, the “Sangiovese” and the “Trebbiano d’Abruzzo”; some DOC red wines such as the “Cerasuolo” and the “Montepulciano d’Abruzzo” and "Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo". Limoncello

 

POINTS OF INTEREST

The Quadrilateral Archaeological Park is situated in the historical center of San Salvo. It corresponds to the original foundation of the town and it is part of a cultural heritage system for the benefit of the audience.  Founded after archaeological researches carried out in 1997, situated in the area around “Piazza San Vitale”, the Park is made of seven archaeological-historical sites. It promotes the knowledge of its historical-archaeological heritage and organizes activities about cultural patrimony in general. Besides the exhibition area, monuments and archaeological sites there are suitable spaces to house meetings, conferences, debates, concerts, artistic laboratories and didactical activities.

The Civic Museum “Porta della Terra” collects and displays some of the archaeological findings coming from the territory of San Salvo, and especially from the Quadrilater Area. The objects exhibited have been selected according to an underground route that goes backwards in time from the Middle Ages to the Archaic Age (6th century BC) passing through rooms with Medieval and Roman walls.

The excavations allowed us to reconstruct the different building phases of the Cistercian monastic settlement during the Middle Ages, when the Quadrilateral area reached its definitive shape, still recognizable in the urban area of the historical centre of San Salvo; this occurred exactly during the construction of the SS Vito’s and Salvo’s Cistercian Abbey, which at the end of the 13th century reorganized a Benedictine community present in the area at least since 1173.

The archaeological investigations have brought to light also the ruins of a Roman settlement, built in the first century AD, which reached its greatest development in the 3rd century AD. To this period belongs the Roman Hypogeum Aqueduct – still feeding the “Fontana Vecchia” (Old Fountain) – and a huge and composite building with masonry in opus incertum, mosaic pavements, marble polychrome revetments and plaster painted in fresco.

In the last section of the Museum are exposed the funerary equipments B from a necropolis belonging to the Archaic Age, discovered in “Via Galilei”, nearby the stadium.

They represent precious informations about the stable occupation of the river terrace, on which San Salvo rises at least since 6th century BC, when the site, that dominates an extensive portion of the low valley of the Trigno river, had been chosen by Frentani population for its strategic position and fertility of its soils.

The Abbey Museum collects findings and documents about the presence of Benedictine monks in South Abruzzi, with particular attention to SS Vito’s and Salvo’s Cistercian Abbey. The Museum offers a thorough analysis on some questions about the millenarian history of the Benedictine Order. The lucky discovery of various fragments of earthenware has allowed to recall the refectory of the monks of SS. Vito’s and Salvo’s Abbey at the beginning of the 14th century, with a true reproduction of the tableware in use at that period.

In the Museum there is a photographic copy of the Chronicon Casauriense, the most important source for the Medieval history of the Abruzzi, written around 1140 in the scriptorium of St. Clemente in Casauria’s Benedectine Abbey.

In the Cloister Archaeological Site there are ruins belonging to a Roman domus and the platform in concrete of a monumental well situated in the centre of the Abbey cloister.

During the Middle Ages, St. Joseph church has been the church of the Benedictine monastery of San Salvo (XII century) and then the church of SS Vito’s and Salvo’s Cistercian Abbey (late 13th century) till the 15th century, when the monks decided to leave the settlement. From then on numerous re-adaptations have modified the original aspect, but the northern outer wall still preserves the Medieval masonry with two single lancet windows in limestone, which have been walled in Modern Age.

The Roman Mosaic Archeological Site owes its name to the remarkable polychrome tessellated paving found in 2002. The northern part of the mosaic forms a carpet consisting in a frame with vine branches which come out from four elegant cantharus, and a central field containing the emblema, which unfortunately has been destroyed. The southern part of the mosaic is made of carpets with geometric subjects, some of these alternate colours according to modular schemes.

The Town Park  is the pre-eminently meeting place of the local community. In this place social relations are made up, children and tourists feel welcome thanks to the playground, the bicycle path, the facilities area and suggestive sculptures recently made and exposed in the park.

The fountain “Forze Emergenti” (Emerging Strength), better known as “Fontana di Vetro” (Glass Fountain), is an architectonic sculpture composed by four basins surmounted by an elaborate geometrical composition of glass sculptured elements. The Fountain is a real open-air museum; it can be crossed by the visitor and it represents the phases of glass production process, an activity that is the basis of the social and economic transformation of the local community from the 60s till now. The dynamic composition of “L’Aquilone” (The Kite) concludes the message of the Fountain, underlining the aim aspects linked to the future towards that the town feels projected.

The “A. Moro” Cultural Centre houses the town’s library, the auditorium, the theatre and cinema hall and a recording studio designed by the architect Giovanni Di Domenico.

The “Cristoforo Colombo” waterfront promenade is about 2,5 km long and it is the ideal place for relaxing walk, caressed by the pleasant and scented sea breeze. There are also many opportunities to make interesting excursions without going too far from the holiday resort.

The marina, opened in 2008 to answer to the increasing demand of the local yachting marine, is active throughout the year. It offers high level facilities that attract an ever-growing number of tourists.

San Salvo’s beach offers the chance to discover important natural habitats that are nowadays protected by the Mediterranean Botanical Garden for their rich and characteristic spontaneous coast vegetation.

The ancient stretch of the “Regio Tratturo L’Aquila-Foggia” (royal sheep-track) was used for thousands of years by shepherds and their flocks during their seasonal movings between the Abruzzi mountains and the Apulia plains; today it is crossed by a beautiful Bicycle Path with pine trees all along, which goes from San Salvo Marina to other bicycle paths of the nearby towns.

The marina “Le Marinelle” is situated in the southern end of San Salvo Marina. It is a modern structure with a capacity of two hundred boats as long as twenty meters of length and it offers a restaurant, accommodation and boat rental services. Leaving the harbor it is possible to make interesting excursions sailing along the Teatina Coast National Park toward the North.

From the sea it is possible to admire the ample equipped sandy beach, the Botanical Garden, long stretches of the sandy shore with the typical dunes, Vasto beach and the following extraordinary cliffs with its composition of promontories and inlets. Rounding Punta Penna Cape we find ourselves inside the Punta Aderci Natural Regional Reserve, with its suggestive beach rich in dunes and the stones beaches framed by the luxuriant Mediterranean spontaneous vegetation.

The marina is situated in a strategic position also for excursions in other directions: it is 10 nm far from Termoli, 25 nm far from Lesina, 30 nm far from the Tremiti Islands Archipelago, 50 nm far from Rodi Garganico, 55 nm far from Peschici, 70 to 100 nm far from the main tourist resorts of Croatia.

The Mediterranean Botanical Garden protects and enhances a large area of sand dunes and ponds between the beach and the “Regio Tratturo L’Aquila-Foggia” (the ancient Royal sheep-track). Visiting it means to discover how sandy beaches along the Adriatic Coast were until a few decades ago, before the beginning of the mass seaside tourism. It is the result of a “restauration” work inspired to rigorous scientific criteria, one of the rare Italian dune gardens, none the less the only one in the whole Adriatic Coast which preserves botanical species elsewhere extinct. Instead, the back-dune habitat houses vegetation of the humid pond habitat that attracts lots of amphibian species, fresh water turtles and birds, like the stilt bird, the sandpiper, the night heron, the little bittern, the red shank. There is also a Mediterranean scrub habitat with the typical evergreen bushes (juniper, rosemary, laurel), tall ilexes and pine trees. The Garden allows the visitor to know the peculiarities of this habitat also by organizing specific activities. It also houses the Sea Observatory, the Didactic Pool, a research, recovery and first aid centre for sea turtles and tortoises.

 

Vasto to Melfi . 

 

Vasto is one of the most fascinating towns of Abruzzo, on the Adriatic Sea with its characteristic gulf and protected by the Apennine peaks, beautiful in its uniqueness.

The coast of Vasto stretches for over 17 Km, with beaches of different types: from the fine and golden sand of Vasto Marina and Punta Penna, to that of pebbles and rocks of Mottagrossa and San Nicola. Every tourist can choose the most desired beach between coves and headlands and taste the seafood specialty on the trabocchi, the ancient wooden fishing machines positioned in the middle of the sea. You can enjoy the seascape by staying at the seafront of Vasto Marina, full of bathing establishments equipped with every comfort and admire the symbol of the city in the middle of the sea, the Bagnante’s monument.

 

In the nature reserve of Punta Aderci, which covers about 285 hectares, there are many varieties of plants and flowers. An experience not to be missed is to walk along the path that leads to the characteristic promontory from where you can see all the open and crystalline sea. Moreover, from Vasto, it is possible to reach the mountains of the Gran Sasso and the Majella in just over an hour.

 

The historical center of Vasto is rich of monuments and historical buildings like the imposing Palazzo D’Avalos, home of the Civic Museum, the Archaeological Museum, the Costume Museum and the exhibition dedicated to the Palizzi brothers, the elegant Neapolitan gardens; the Roman Baths, FAI good and dating back to the 2nd century AD; the Caldoresco Castle, a 1427 fortress that stands on Piazza Garibaldi; the statue of the poet Gabriele Rossetti who stands in the center of the local square. From Via Adriatica and the Amblingh Lodge, it is possible to admire the beautiful panorama and the golden gulf.

 

Vasto is also famous for its delicious cuisine of land and especially the seafood: typical dishes such as the Brodetto can be tasted in the numerous restaurants along the seafront and in the historical center. Vasto is the perfect combination of art and sea, beach and monuments, the ideal place to spend pleasant holidays, alone or in good company.

 

FOOD - The cuisine of the Vasto area, from the coast to the hinterland, is renowned for its variety, thanks to the different traditions that have participated in its birth and growth. The shepherds’ cuisine mixed with that of the farmers and their mountain products characterized by simple dishes but, at the same time, tasty. Therefore, wide use of soups and minestre, sheepmeat, cheese and that extra flavor given by aromatic herbs.

A separate note should be made for the seafood cuisine, facilitated by a catch of great quality and variety and from the great heritage “of the earth” such as vegetables from  the nearby hills, and it is precisely from the meeting of these products that the main dish of the tables is born: fish soup Vastese style.

 

DRINK - In the vastese cuisine, the use of oil and the taste  of a good dish wine are of vital importance. The agricultural economy of Vasto is mainly based on wine and oil. Quality products, certified by the various denominations and indications of origin such as the PDO extra virgin olive oil and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, Cerasuolo, Trebbiano Doc and Pecorino wines.

 

POINTS OF INTEREST

Overlooking the sea and symbol of the city, Palazzo d’Avalos dominates the landscape with its majesty and its Neapolitan garden.

It is one of the most significant examples of Renaissance architecture in Abruzzo from the second half of the sixteenth century in Roman style, built on pre-existing Roman and early medieval structures, which incorporated the remains of the fifteenth-century building built by the Caldora and devastated during the incursion of the Turkish armies of Pialy Pascia in 1566. During the three centuries of lordship of the d’Avalos, from the end of the fifteenth century until the French occupation of 1799, the building gradually took on the appearance of a palace, seat of a real small local court. After the d’Avalos abandoned it, the rooms of the palace were progressively divided up to obtain apartments and shops, transformations for utilitarian purposes which ended up obscuring the princely residence. In 1974 the Municipality of Vasto completed the acquisition of the Avalos share and the restoration work on the complex began.

t houses four museums: the Archaeological Museum, which documents the history of the city and the territory, the Pinacoteca, with the works of the family of painters of Filippo Palizzi, a participant in the most important artistic currents of the 19th century, “Mediterranean”, the collection of Contemporary Art with works by Italian and Spanish artists, and the Museum of Ancient Costume, which includes a collection of paintings depicting traditional clothes and a collection of Abruzzo clothes from the early 1800s and early 1900s. The building is also known for the presence of the spectacular Neapolitan garden, overlooking the sea, brought back to its former glory by a restoration that has returned it to the original late eighteenth-century layout. The complex also has halls and rooms set up and used for events and temporary exhibitions.

 

The Caldoresco Castle was built in 1439 by the Sienese architect Mariano di Jacopo known as Il Táccola on commission from Giacomo Caldora, the feudal lord and lord of Vasto. The castle is located in the historic center of the city and overlooks Piazza Rossetti and Piazza Barbacani.

The square plan has four almond-shaped angular bastions (today one is missing) and a larger circular watchtower full of merlons, and a smaller side tower, transformed in the eighteenth century. The bastions have lanceolate towers, with a low body without openings on a scarp base, with an intermediate frame, and pointed arches.

 

The thermal complex of Vasto, the ancient Histonium, is the largest in the entire Adriatic area of central-southern Italy: in fact, it has an area of about 250 square metres. Furthermore, much of the site is still buried under the nearby Adriatic road and the church of Sant’Antonio.

Piazza “Gabriele Rossetti”: the area of the ancient Roman amphitheater of Histonium, was built around 1924, since before it was only a dirt clearing for the market. It has a semi-elliptical appearance, following the shape of the amphitheater, with the monument to the poet Rossetti in the centre, surrounded by four large palm trees. The small houses of the Santa Maria Maggiore district, the Palazzo Palmieri, the church of San Francesco di Paola, and the southern access to Corso Italia overlook the square.

Loggia Amblingh takes its name from the secretary of the Palazzo d’Avalos Guglielmo Amblingh, and is the panoramic promenade of the Santa Maria Maggiore district, which includes the stretch of the walls with tower-houses, including the Casa Rossetti, the descent to Fonte Jovine, the chapel of the Madonna della Catena, and the entrance to the district from Porta Santa Maria. The loggia is broken by the retaining wall of the garden of Palazzo d’Avalos, which forces you to go up towards Piazza Pudente, while at the other end you go up to Piazza Cavour.

 

The main theater of Vasto is the Teatro “Gabriele Rossetti”, located on the edge of the historic centre, in the Porta Nuova area. The theater was built in 1819 above the old monastery of Santo Spirito, designed by Taddeo Salvini. The works, interrupted, were completed in 1830, with the solemn inauguration of the theater on 15 September 1832 in the presence of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies. At the curtain the Histonese Roman poet Lucio Valerio Pudens was depicted, crowned in Rome with the laurel. In 1841 the Real Teatro Borbonico required maintenance works, and the intervention was entrusted to Pietrocola. In September 1909 the works on the building were definitively completed (carried out by the engineer Filippo Laccetti), which appears as a typical Italian opera house, with a neoclassical facade.

 

The Natural Reserve of Punta Aderci protected area is the first Reserve established in Abruzzo in the coastal strip and was born from the need to reconcile the naturalistic aspect of the area with the tourist one, relating to the usability of the beaches. The Reserve has an extension of about 285 hectares (which reach 400 with the external protection area) and goes from the beach of Punta Penna, adjacent to the Port of Vasto (Punta della Lotta), to the mouth of the river Sinello (border with the municipality of Casalbordino).

The long sandy beach of Punta Penna ends with the pebble beach of Libertini below the cliff of the promontory of Punta Aderci. The Libertini beach is accessible both from the Punta Penna beach and via a short path of 80 steps, which connects it to the dirt road that leads to the promontory of Punta Aderci (26 m a.s.l.). On the other side of the promontory is the small beach of Punta Aderci. From here continue to the long pebble beach of Mottagrossa. From this beach to the mouth of the Sinello river begins one of the most solitary and difficult to access stretches of coast of the central Adriatic.

Overlooking the Mottagrossa beach, take a panoramic route at high altitude (about 20m above sea level) of about 3 km (former railway track) which allows you to discover the pine forests by the sea, valleys and stretches of Mediterranean scrub on foot or by bike. The pine forests offer the visitor the possibility of a refreshing break during the summer months. The Reserve ends at the mouth of the Sinello river, just beyond the characteristic brick arches that delimited the old railway line. Turning left, just before the mouth, you move away from the coast along a path that runs alongside the Sinello river and crosses the internal area of the Reserve. Due to the high summer temperatures and the length of the route, this section of the trail is best visited by mountain bike.

 

Melfi

 

Melfi is not a city with a simple history, but, above all, it is a city with a beautiful history.

 

Melfi is the third municipality in Basilicata in terms of population and size. It develops at an altitude of 562 metres above sea level on Mount Vulture slopes (1327 m. asl). Its extended historic centre and city walls surrounds the Norman Swabian Castle, first built by the Normans, and then rebuilt by Frederick II. Finally, it was equipped with new towers by Charles I of Anjou and restored by the Caracciolos and Dorias. Massimo Pallottino (who was born in Melfi) National Archaeological Museum, is based in the Castle and it is one of the most significant and well-known in the south of Italy.

Its historical landmarks and beautiful natural areas stand out among those in Melfi that can be fully appreciated and as well as easily visited. This fascinating combination of structures and natural wonders contrasts sharply with a sizeable, outlying industrial area where major global companies like Stellantis (formerly Fiat), Barilla, and others have their headquarters.

 

FOOD - The entire Vulture-Melfi community is intimately connected to its “chestnut”, which has been celebrated in Melfi since 1960 in all of its forms during the “Varola festival”, unquestionably one of the most significant and enduring gastronomic gatherings in the Lucan culture. It’s an annual tradition that takes place the last weekend in October. Here, the “marroncini” (little chestnuts) are transformed into tasty roast chestnuts since they are prepared and roasted in a huge traditional pan, known as “Varola”. Accordingly, the Melfi “marroncino” is highly regarded in the creation of desserts, confections, and liquors. It is sought-after for the production of the renowned marron glacé, due to its round shape and unique texture.

The extra virgin olive oil known as Vulture DOP is made from cold-pressed, top-quality olives and it is always the basis of every dish. The most widespread olive quality is “Vulture Ogliarola” along with “Melfi Cima”.

 

Local delicacies include “Pancotto alla Melfitana”, prepared by mixing bread, potatoes and boiled turnips in one saucepan to be finally topped with an oil, garlic, red pepper sauté; “Cucinidd”: lamb cooked with bacon, sausage, tomatoes, cardoons and eggs; “Maccuarnar”: dialect name for “Maccoronara” which is long, fresh pasta that is hand-made using a metal rolling pin; “Calzoncelli“: a traditional Melfi dessert. The recipe has been passed down through generations: a cylindrical dough of two to three cm in diameter made of almonds, chocolate and sugar is coated in a crumbly shortcrust pastry crust.

 

WINES - The Vulture-Melfi area is the cradle of the famous Vulture Aglianico wine, made from ruby-colored, DOCG-certified Aglianico grapes. It is one of the best Italian wines and it has been denominated the “Barolo of the South” due to its method of production and flavour.

 

POINTS OF INTEREST

The Melfi Cathedral was recently restored on the facade and given new outside lighting. It is the true beating heart of Melfi. It was built starting from its original structure and supervised by Roberto “the Guiscardo”. Then, it was named as “Santa Maria Assunta” despite not having been completed. The interior is divided into three naves by two rows of square-base columns, from which the origins of five arches can be traced. The floor is made of marble and hard stones placed in rhombic patterns. The side aisles have a vaulted ceiling while the central one has a false ceiling in gilded wooden coffers made in the 18th century by Bishop Spinelli who had his coat of arms affixed in the center. Behind the main altar, there is the presbytery and a wooden choir dating back to the 1500s. Surmounting the choir, there is a pipe organ from the 1700s.

 

Ruggero II commissioned Noslo de Remerio to complete this Norman building in 1153, and today only the magnificent bell tower is visible. With a square plan measuring 9.25 metres on each side, three floors, and a terminal pyramid, it rises to a height of around 61 metres and, from a distance, resembles a massive tower defending the city. On the frame of the third floor, Federico II had the Ghibelline merlons put down after 1851 by order of Bishop Sellitti. An octagonal prism that rests above the third level serves as the base for a pyramid that takes the place of the original circular dome typical of Norman-Arab buildings.

 

The Hall of Coats of Arms of the “Episcopio” (Bishop's Palace) in Melfi is certainly the place of the highest prestige that our city offers, for the simple fact that on its walls is narrated the history, not only religious, of the Regio Vulturis of Bertauxiana memory through the  bishops’ coats of arms who animated it. The “Episcopio” is unquestionably among the first and the best structure in the Kingdom, and may still be unequaled, with its long facade, grandiose courtyard, towering staircase, vast halls, and adorned rooms. Tourists can admire then the large enclosed garden commissioned by Bishop Mario Rufino, the Bishop Basta-designed coat-of-arms hall, the throne room, with frescoed walls, the late 18th-century fountain that adorns the internal courtyard, and the wide scissor staircase that is reminiscent of Neapolitan noble palaces. The inside of the halls today serves as a fascinating art gallery with sacred vestments, as well as paintings of religious and secular subjects ranging from the school of Nicola da Tolentino, attested to the 15th century, to works by Cristiano Danona.

 

The Venosina Door, one of the six former open gates in Melfi’s walls, is where Frederick II entered the city. It was the starting point of an artery that extended through the Via Appia to Venosa. The battle between Charles V’s German-Spanish Empire and the French Capetian Kings, which took place in Melfi between March 22, 1528, and November 5, 1528, is reenacted there during the feast of Pentecost.

 

The Norman Swabian Castle was built by the Normans, rebuilt by Frederick II, equipped with new towers by Charles I of Anjou, and restored by the Caracciolos and the Dorias. Despite having the appearance of a fortress, it is unquestionably not an example of unitary architecture. It is without a doubt the most well-known and one of the biggest castles in Basilicata and in the south of Italy. It comprises 10 towers, seven of which are rectangular and three pentagonal, and it is built on top of a hill, surrounded by a rampart, a moat, and a wall. There are four entrances, three of which are Angevin. Beyond the front door, you enter the Main Courtyard overlooked by the baronial palace and the noble chapel and immediately after, you can see an arch that connects the palace to the church, to the courtyard (also known as “Cortile della Rimessa”) and the Cistern. Finally, the “Cortile del Mortorio” is located between the tower of the Emperor and the Torrita Parvula. Armigeri Square is located between the “Baluardo del Leone” and the Emperor’s tower. Two square towers can be seen and they were built into the central complex’s two front ends; a third tower was at the opposite corner but there is no trace today. The window in the Throne Room, the Marcangione tower’s mullioned window motif, which is evocative of the Termoli cathedral’s facade, and the capital of the bastion, which is centred on a spiral staircase connecting the North East tower and the Prisons tower, all have architectural significance. The latter capital is similar to those found in “Castel del Monte.”

 

Santa Margherita Rock church, which dates to the year 1200 and was totally excavated from tuff, is the most organic-looking from a structural perspective among the rock churches. It was found by Gian Battista Guarini and has a single nave with frescoes on every wall but those near the apse. The apse vault features a portrait of Christ Pantocrator in addition to the Archangel Michael, the Madonna with Child, St. John the Baptist, Christ Enthroned, St. Basil, and St. Nicholas. Three lay people dressed as falconers are portrayed in the chapel as well. The three laymen would be the members of the Swabian imperial family, according to a 1993 theory developed by a Neapolitan named Raffaele Capaldo: Corrado, the son of Frederick II, the emperor and his wife Elizabeth of England, would be dressed as falconers as Federico, since people who attended church were accustomed to seeing him in hunting clothing.

 

Venosa to Largo Laceno (Bagnoli Irpino)

 

Venosa is a casket of stories and treasures, some clearly visible, others kept in the land, only partially excavated. It stands in the N-E of Basilicata Region, on one of the last hills that slope down from Vulture Mount towards the Ofanto valley, in a varied landscape that has favored human settlement since prehistoric times.

 

FOOD - Venosa’s gastronomy has a history that comes from afar.

…inde domum me ad porri et ciceris refero laganique catinum (I’m going home to my bowl of leeks, chickpeas and lagane) as Quintus Horatius Flaccus, also known as Horace, wrote in 35 B.C. (Satire 1.6).  With his love for humble and healthy food, he was the precursor of the Mediterranean diet.

Lagane and chickpeas: fresh durum wheat semolina pasta, similar to tagliatelle, but wider and shorter, cooked together with chickpeas, topped with crunchy crusco peppers. It is a first dish that can still be tasted in the city’s restaurants

Past’ e tar’ cucòzz: pasta with talli di zucca (a vegetable similar to broccoli) and peeled tomatoes.

Orecchiette all’oraziana: orecchiette pasta with sausage cooked in tomato sauce and served with mozzarella, cheese and, optionally, a pinch of chilli pepper.

Brodetto di agnello alla pastora: a timbale of lamb, eggs and cardoons, which can be eaten in every home in Venosa on Easter Monday.

Cod fish with crusco peppers: boiled cod fish with crusco peppers fried in EVO oil.

Typical Desserts - Pizzicanelli: these are rhombus-shaped biscuits made with cocoa, chocolate, almonds and cinnamon.

Raffaiul: made with egg yolks, sugar and then glazed. Until the 1970s, they were the typical desserts served during wedding banquets.

La past d la zeit: a fluffy mixture of eggs, flour, sugar and cream of tartar, filled of a special cream with a sweet vanilla flavour.

Cooked Grain of the Dead: dessert for 2nd November, Day of the Dead. Pearl wheat, pomegranate seeds, walnuts, cooked fig wine.

Cauzincidd’: puff pastry filled with chickpeas and chestnuts. This is a popular Christmas dessert.

Pettole: a mixture of flour and yeast fried in hot oil and then sweetened.

 

WINE - Venosa is one of the municipalities in the Vulture area where the fine “VULTURE DOP” extra virgin olive oil is produced, which is obtained by pressing at least 70% “Ogliarola del Vulture” olives. Venosa’s wine, Aglianico del Vulture, is among the top DOCG red wines in Italy.

The vine, one of the oldest in Italy, was originally imported by the Greeks in the 7th-6th century B.C. in the area of the Mount Vulture extinct volcano. This wine has an intense, velvety taste and it ranks among the great international wines.

Most of all, Aglianico del Vulture is associated with the Latin poet Horace, the first wine expert in history. His verse “nunc est bibendum” (now we must drink) (Odes, I, 37, 1) has become an immortal motto for those who, after achieving success, raise their glass

 

POINTS OF INTEREST

In Venosa, every historical period is represented by direct evidence of great value, starting with those present in the Paleolithic park of Notarchirico, where fossil remains of ancient elephants and other prehistoric animals, dating back to 700,000 years ago , lie buried by the ashes of the Vulture, the nearby extinct volcano. The excavations of the Roman age, with the domus, the baths and the amphitheater with its gladiatorial school, recall the ancient and rich Venusia, a Latin colony, home of the poet Quinto Orazio Flacco, a rich and dynamic Roman commercial hub crossed by the Regina Viarum, Via Appia.

A few kilometers from the town, you can admire the Jewish catacombs, an extraordinary example of coexistence and integration between cultures, a burial place where Christians and Jews rested next to each other. The early Christian period is well testified by the first cathedral, whose remains are still visible in the archaeological park.

The Middle Ages can be perceived in the solemn and timeless art of the Benedictine abbey of the Holy Trinity and in the evocative Incompiuta, a church never completed, in which the great past of the colony resurfaces in the reuse of worked stones of the classical age, inserted among its walls.

In the current cathedral, located in the center of the city and in a series of noble and ecclesiastical buildings, there is great architectural and artistic refinement. Then many illustrious personalities protagonists of important historical events, writers, artists. Roberto il Guiscardo is buried in Venosa with his brothers and his first wife Aberada; King Manfredi, natural son of Frederico II and Bianca Lancia was born in Venosa. Prince Carlo Gesualdo, famous throughout Europe, was born in the Aragonese Castle, built by Pirro del Balzo.

 

Today the historic center of Venosa, one of The Most Beautiful Villages in Italy, keeps over two thousand years of history along its streets. A real open-air museum in which two distinct museum offerings are also integrated: the National Archaeological Museum “Mario Torelli” housed in the long basement walkway of the Pirro del Balzo castle, and the Episcopal Museum which is located next to the Co-Cathedral of Sant’Andrea Apostolo. The first tells the story of the city of Venosa and its territory, from the foundation of the Latin colony in 291 BC. to the explosion of the Renaissance city, expressed by the construction of the castle in 1470. The new Museum itinerary makes use of a narrative system that uses interactive technological solutions and multimedia supports. The second is set up in the rooms of the ancient Episcopio. The exhibition rooms are spread over two floors and contain a precious and varied heritage inside. From pictorial works, such as the valuable icon of the Madonna dell’Idria of the thirteenth century, to sculptural ones, from silverware to splendid textile artifacts, to stone finds, it will allow the visitor a historical-artistic excursus of considerable importance.

 

Lago Laceno (Bagnoli Irpino)

 

The town of Bagnoli Irpino is in a valley surrounded by mountains, some of which exceed 1700 meters of altitude, such as Mount Cervialto and Mount Raiamagra. It is a sunny location with not too rigid climate, quiet and popular tourist destination, well connected with the motorway network.

It has about 3200 inhabitants and lies about 650 meters above sea level. Its mountains border with the mountainous area of Nusco, Lioni, Caposele, Calabritto, Acerno and Montella. Part of the territory is wooded, some other is cultivated and the rest is herbiferous for grazing herds, which constituted the main industries and economic resources of the township. On its mountains you can admire some amazing points, which have nothing to envy the mountains of Switzerland, and among them there is the plateau of Laceno at 1040 meters above sea level, which is crossed by the perennial stream of the Tornola, which collects to form a pond at the foot of Mount Raiamagra, and that finally through a natural tunnel flows into the Caliendo Ravine, one of the offshoots of the Calore River.

 

Bagnoli was built before 1000 A.C. as a fortified town to defend the Lombard Duchy of Salerno. At the time of the of Federico II, Diopold of Hohenburg, a German captain, made it a center of strategic importance. The village became a square of arms, surrounded by powerful walls and equipped with a formidable castle, located on the hill called Serra and dominating the upper valley of the Calore River.

 

The artistic beauties of Bagnoli Irpino have also been in the past of a remarkable taste and value. For centuries it was “Demanio Regio” until the time of the Aragonese it was given as a fief, as along as Montella and Cassano, to the Cavaniglia family (Spanish relatives of the Orsini). During this period the country experienced the most remarkable benefits of progress and renewal, several productive initiatives were improved and enlarged.

In addition to the herds industry, which the Aragonese favored considerably, silkworm farming and especially the production, the spinning and the coloring of textiles arose in this period; the famous “Pezza Bagnolese” for centuries was an important head of bridal goods. Meeting place of the academics Pontaniani, Bagnoli, inspired the Sannazzaro poet, who drew several thoughts for his poem “ARCADIA” from these places.

Erected as a duchy in 1611, it was held in fief by the Maiorca – Strozzi family until 1806 when feudalism was abolished. Being jealous custodians and proud of their freedom, the Bagnolese always imposed the oath of “Chapters”, rules and privileges concerning uses and customs on the state property by the population.

 

FOOD -

Cheese - Sheep and cattle breeding is an important resource for Bagnoli Irpino. Moreover, the environmental context in which the animals live guarantee an excellent milk, therefore outstanding cheeses and a tasty meat. Among the cheeses we find excellent pecorino (also flavored with truffle), a fresh ricotta with a delicate taste, dried ricotta with chili, an excellent podolic caciocavallo.

 

Black Truffles - The Black Truffle of Bagnoli Irpino (scientific name is “Tuber mesentericum”) is very appreciated for its unmistakable aroma. With the Tartufo di Bagnoli Irpino are produced typical flavored cheeses, such as a very valuable butter also used for the preparation of croutons and pasta, meat or fish dishes. In addition, “Tartufo di Bagnoli Irpino” is used for alcoholic preparations: grappa and liqueurs.

 

The Chestnut of Montella IGP - The territory of Bagnoli Irpino is part of the production area of the “Castagna di Montella I.G.P”, which also includes the territories of the Municipality of Montella, Cassano Irpino, Volturara Irpina, Nusco and Montemarano. This quality of chestnuts is very appreciated, especially abroad. With a particularly sweet taste, it is ideal for pastry: “castagnaccio”, chocolate chestnut balls and many other products. In addition, the chestnut processing industry produces “Castagne del prete” (dried and then softened), “marronata” and flour.

 

Mushrooms - In the chestnut groves surrounding Bagnoli, from 700 meters up to 1809 of Mount Cervialto, in the beech woods, there are: the porcine in its various aspects (Boletus Reticulatus, Boletus Edulis, etc.), the nails, the hen, the egg and others. The period runs from May to September and depends on the climate, altitude and humus richness of the woodland. There is no other vegetable so appreciated as this product. Its particular flavor, the unmistakable scent, the different fine varieties make it a food celebrated by gourmets and appreciated by all palates. To collect mushrooms, you must have a badge so if you do not have it, you can buy them from authorised people who go to collect them at the first sunrise.

 

POINTS OF INTEREST

Norman-Swabian Castle - With the Normans, Bagnoli Irpino was held as a fief by the descendants of the D’Aquino family, Counts of Acerra. With the advent of the House of Swabia, the county of Bagnoli, Montella and Cassano remained to the German captain Diopoldo de Schweispeunt, who had ousted the old lords. The new feudal lord, fearing the revenge of the old owners, built his castle on the hill called “Serra”. This fort later passed to the Cavaniglia family.

Alleys of the historical center – La Giudecca - The historic center, called Giudecca, is located behind the Duomo. The name comes from settlers of Jewish origin who first inhabited it and represents the first large settlement of Bagnoli Irpino. It is a medieval village built around the old Longobard castle of the VII century of which you can still see the ruins. The village has the Spanish architectural features.

Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Assunta - The first church dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta was built around the XII century on the hill of Giudecca where the first town of Bagnoli arose. In the XVI century the church was enlarged, as it appears currently. In fact, what was the length became the width then, while it was entirely rebuilt the structure with the current main entrance, the presbytery, the choir and the apse. The church is 53 meters long, 28 meters wide and has 3 naves and 2 transepts, the internal structure represents a Latin cross. Inside there are numerous paintings and sculptures by well-known artists from Bagnoli, such as La Decollazione by S. Giovanni Battista and L’Addolorata by Andrea D’Asti, a canvas depicting the Immaculate Conception that protects Bagnoli, by Gustavo Trillo; the picture of the Conception of the Virgin with S. Luca and S. Nicola di Bari, The Trinity and Saints by Giacomo Cestaro, a sculpture of S. Francesco da Paola still by Cestaro, a dead Christ by the famous Domenico De Venuta and the artistic walnut niche where the statue of the Immaculate Conception is kept, with two candlesticks on the sides finely worked by the artist Erminio Trillo.

Among the many works of art that can be found here, the Wooden Choir is a masterpiece of carving. Executed between 1652 and 1657 by the artists Scipione Infante, Gian Domenico, Giovanni Angiolo Della Vecchia and Giacomo Bonavita, known as Capoccia di Lauro. This work of art is presented on all three sides of the choir, the fourth is represented by the altar with two side entrances. is majestic, composed of 19 rectangular stalls in which are illustrated in high reliefs episodes of the Old Testament and bas-reliefs of the New. It is a masterpiece of sculpture, a carving in the national walnut wood, declared a national monument in 1912.

The church and monastery of San Domenico, built in 1490, was initially called Santa Maria di Loreto. Later, at request of the countess, Margherita Orsini and Giulia Caracciolo, the convent was dedicated to San Domenico. Over the years, thanks to the will of Friar Ambrogio Salvio, the convent was enlarged, and a student house was built that generated in Bagnoli a force of culture. Characteristic and majestic, the bell tower, about 30 meters high by the architectural structure. In fact, its structure is quadrangular for two planes, while the upper part is octagonal.

The Civic Tower, commonly called the Clock Tower, is a building of the XV century. At the base there is the Fountain of Gavitone, on the corner of the Court House. Further below above the pipes there is a noble shield that brings together the coats of arms of three families: Cavaniglia, Orsini and Caracciolo. The square the fountain was the old town centre. On the west side there is an evocative plant of hornbeam about 300 years old, born and grow up in the wall.

Laceno Plateau is situated about 1000 meters above sea level about 8 km from Bagnoli Irpino, surrounded by the beautiful nature of the Regional Park of Monti Picentini (province of Avellino and Salerno, Campania). The lake, which takes its name from the town, is fed by the Tronola River, rises from the beginning of the plateau and spreads around the town. It is also surrounded by forests, pastures and areas dedicated to agriculture. In Laceno area there are the beautiful caves of Caliendo, which are the subject of study from speleologists and lovers. There is a project going on to open the caves to the public. The area of accommodation is mainly concentrated near the ski resort, which contributes greatly to making the place a popular tourist destination in winter. However, every season in Laceno has interesting proposals. Throughout the year, Laceno offers relaxation, fun, sport, culture and gastronomy. Sports activities, in addition to skiing and other winter sports, go from hiking to horseback riding, from archery to mountain biking and in addition you can make guided excursions. This amazing place is also ideal for school trips because, in addition to being able to get in touch with a more natural dimension, children can deepen their knowledge through guided tours to the Forest Nursery. For them, there are also amusement parks with inflatables, slopes and other equipment. In Laceno there are also festivals of local products.

Tannera River - The territory of Bagnoli Irpino is rich of water springs, streams and torrents sometimes winding and bumpy, sometimes calm and silent. The Tannera River is one of the most beautiful natural sites in the area and therefore is a destination for hikers and mountain lovers. You go down on foot along an easy path and you enter a untouched environment, among small waterfalls and natural basins. Some parts of the path are arduous and difficult. The place is the ideal habitat of the spotted salamander, which is an excellent biological indicator of the state of health of the environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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