Avellino and Irpinia - In Campania

From the Sabato river
to the Ufita river
famous travellers
Maria d’Avalos had such hair, that deserved no less gold than crown. She was
all ringslets, so the murdered was justified if his life remained forever prisoner
of death.
Court Chronicler Corona, 1590
156
A fun alternative to the classic tourist itineraries
is following the course of the rivers.
The Sabato river is born in the Picentini mountains
just south of Avellino. The first town you come
across is Serino: it is from here that the acqueduct
that supplies Naples and other cities starts. The city
is also the starting point of excursions to the Monte
Terminio highlands (1,300mt) and into the Monti
Picentini Park, which also has ski-lifts and hotels
during the winter months. A detour to visit Solofra
is a must: set in a beautiful landscape of mountains
it has treasures such as the Collegiate of San
Michele Church, with paintings from the 1550’s and
1600’s (the most famous by Francesco Guarino) and
the majestic Palazzo Ducale, seat of local government.
The city is considered capital of leatherware
in Campania.
Atripalda, on the shores of the Sabato river, is the
archaeological zone of the ancient Abellinum. One
can visit the excavations in the area of Civita, with
the remains of walls, towers and a Roman house,
with a garden, a pool and frescoed rooms. The
building of the Dogana dei grani is a good example
of industrial archaeology, a container and a museum
that hosts relics from the churches either destroyed
or closed by the 1980 earthquake, and temporary
exhibits.
In Prata di Principato Ultra, sitting on an outcrop
that dominates the course of the river, is one of the
oldest monuments of Irpinia, the Basilica
dell’Annunziata. It still retains some paleo-christian
structurs of the 6 th century, and catacombs dating
back to the 3 rd -4 th centuries AD, with altars, tombs
and frescoes: the one depicting the Annunciation is
particularly interesting.
Montefusco is the Felsulae recalled by Titus Livius.
The Great Criminal Court of the Bourbons was held
in its castle, and has been nick-named the “Irpinian
Spielberg”, because many patriotic fighters in the
Italian Risorgimento were imprisoned there.
Mirabella Eclano sits where there was once an
important Samnite city, later conquered by the
Romans. At the pass of Mirabella are the
excavations of Aeclanum that have brought to light
important remains of the Roman city, among which
the public baths, the marketplace, houses, shops
and net-like walls. Many of the relics are on exhibit
at the Irpino Museum of Avellino. In the centre of
Mirabella is the church of Santa Maria Maggiore
(end 1800’s) which preserves a priceless wooden
crucifix of the 1200’s, one of the best examples of
Romanesque sculpture in Southern Italy.
The wide Ufita valley, to the north, is an area rich
in history and tradition, where green hills and tiny
villages alternate seemingly without end.
In picturesque Ariano Irpino are the imposing
remains of the Norman era castle and a lovely
cathedral. A gorgeous view of the Ufita and Mescano
valleys can be enjoyed from here, with the Taburno,
Partenio and Matese mountains on the horizon.
Pratically all of the area, with its villages nestled on
hilltops, is rich in castles: the most famous and best
preserved is the massive one that dominates the
village of Gesualdo, where in the 1500’s the famous
musician and prince Carlo Gesualdo composed
many of his works; and that of Zungoli, in an
enchanting ancient hamlet.
For a relaxing vacation of wellness one can visit the
Ancient Spas of San Teodoro, not far from
Villamaina in the town of Bagni di San Teodoro.
157
in honour of the wheat:
the festival of the straw
cart
“The Festival of the Straw
Cart” is held every year
on the third Saturday
of September in Mirabella
Eclano. A straw pyramid
25 meters high, covered by
ears of wheat and topped by
the statue of the Grieving
Virgin, is carried to the
centre of town on a cart
pulled by six bulls. The
obelisque is held in place
by the locals with tightly
pulled ropes.
Gesualdo da Venosa,
prince of the madrigalists
The greatest italian
madrigalist has also gone
down in history for other
reasons: in 1590, upon
surprising his beautiful wife
Maria d’Avalos with her lover
in his Neapolitan palace in
Piazza San Domenico
Maggiore, he killed them
both. To escape the revenge
of the families of the
murdered, he took refuge in
his castle at Gesualdo, where
he dedicated the last years of
his life to sacred music. In
the Capuchin convent of
Gesualdo, a painting by
Giovanni Balducci (1609)
shows the prince on his
knees, accompanied by his
uncle Carlo Borromeo (later
to become a Saint) as he
begs forgiveness for the
double murder. Facing the
prince is his second wife,
Eleonora d’Este.
The convent
of San Francesco
in Montella
Basilica of the
Annunziata in
Prata di Principato
Ultra