Inhabited since the Neolithic (5th-4th millennium BC), Grottaminarda is located in a strategic area and has been a land of passage on the Tyrrhenian-Adriatic route since ancient times, representing a fundamental commercial hub. The origins of the village of Grottaminarda date back to around the 12th century, with the Norman Trogisio de Grutta, and it is known that in 1142 it became the property of the d'Aquino family. It was under the d'Aquino family that Grottaminarda was fortified with walls, read more
Inhabited since the Neolithic (5th-4th millennium BC), Grottaminarda is located in a strategic area and has been a land of passage on the Tyrrhenian-Adriatic route since ancient times, representing a fundamental commercial hub. The origins of the village of Grottaminarda date back to around the 12th century, with the Norman Trogisio de Grutta, and it is known that in 1142 it became the property of the d'Aquino family. It was under the d'Aquino family that Grottaminarda was fortified with walls, the Castle and several churches, extending up to Portaurea, also called Porta Grande. Under the Aragonese, in 1443, it became a customs house, then transformed into a post station. The municipality was severely damaged by the earthquake of 1732, due to the proximity of the epicenter. The main architecture of the village is the D'Aquino Castle. The manor stands in a dominant position in the ancient village. The original structure of this fortress, with an almost trapezoidal plan, dates back to the Early Middle Ages and was expanded around the first half of the 12th century with the installation of the defensive walls. It first belonged to the D'Aquino family, from 1134 to 1531, when it was taken from them by Charles V, and then passed to various feudal families and became, in 1988, municipal property. Following the earthquakes of 1694 and 1732, part of the structure of the D'Aquino Castle became a stately home and several rooms were adapted: the first floor of the southern sector was used as a residential area and an area behind it was transformed into a sumptuous hanging garden with a terrace, overlooking the suggestive panorama of the valley below, full of vegetation. Despite the numerous restoration interventions that have affected it, some of the perimeter walls from the Aragonese period are still visible today, made up of rows of bricks alternating with river pebbles or limestone, cemented with very hard mortar. Furthermore, the four towers remain at the corners of the old defensive bastion: three cylindrical and one with a square plan, all on a sloped base, in order to bring greater defensive advantages to the manor. Remains of the Guelph crenellated crowning are still admirable at the top of some sections of the wall. The lower part of the structure, however, houses the cellars, created inside an underground cave, and some barrel-vaulted tunnels. Recently restored, Castello D'Aquino is home to the Antiquarium Museum and hosts the "O. Sanini" Municipal Library and still shows the splendor of the past.
The most important and largest church in Grottaminarda is the Mother Church of S. Maria Maggiore, built starting in 1746 and designed by Vanvitelli. The portal is beautiful and features Baroque decorations. Inside, the marble baptismal font stands out, as does the high altar, several chapels, the tomb of Giovanni Bellugio, eighteenth-century paintings attributed to Antonio Sarnelli, the vault painted by Matteo Vigilante (1788), and, finally, an eighteenth-century organ. Outside, on the right of the church, the tall Bell Tower stands out, which is on three levels. The metal tourist plate near the tower defines it as "Vanvitellian Tower" and the date is 1764. read less
