Located on the border with the Puglia region, the inhabited village of Zungoli presents itself as a typical Irpinia municipality thanks to its progressive development on the top of a tuff hill, characterized by an inhabited historic center crossed by cobbled streets and stone stairways. Although the name of the ancient village appears for the first time around the middle of the 11th century, indicated as Zuncoli on the occasion of the consecration of the Church of San Cataldo, there are finds th read more
Located on the border with the Puglia region, the inhabited village of Zungoli presents itself as a typical Irpinia municipality thanks to its progressive development on the top of a tuff hill, characterized by an inhabited historic center crossed by cobbled streets and stone stairways. Although the name of the ancient village appears for the first time around the middle of the 11th century, indicated as Zuncoli on the occasion of the consecration of the Church of San Cataldo, there are finds that indicate a human settlement since the Copper Age. Its strategic position, far from the large inhabited centers and hidden by the nearby mountains, has allowed it to be home to a fortress that has been preserved almost completely to the present day, the so-called "Castrum Caroli", built around the 12th century and originally owned by the Angevins: it was ceded by Charles I of Anjou himself to Enrico di Valdimonte, and then passed to other ancient feudal families of the time who resided inside, taking care of it until the abolition of feudalism in 1806. The village of Zungoli is considered among the most beautiful villages in Italy by the association of the same name, for the strong historical and artistic interest that it hosts and has received the "orange flag", a recognition in the tourism-environmental field awarded by the Italian Touring Club with the aim of territorial and tourist promotion. Among the architectural assets that have allowed the village of Zungoli to be defined and recognized as one of the most beautiful in Italy is the Norman Castle with a square plan, built with the clear intent of defending the area from Byzantine incursions, which originally had four cylindrical corner towers on splayed bases: one of them was demolished, without being rebuilt, by the 1456 earthquake that hit central-southern Italy. The façade, 30 meters wide and 14 meters high, has received, over the centuries, just like the interior of the building, numerous interventions aimed at making it a civilian residence, including a last one in the first half of the 19th century by the Marquises Susanna di Sant’Eligio, who have been the current owner family for over two centuries. The Castle is located in one of the two main squares and can be reached from the north via a tuff stone bridge that separates the historic center of the village from the rest of the surrounding houses. In the historic center, among the narrow streets that intersect between logo, several buildings with interesting ancient stone structures and elements stand out, which over the years, despite having undergone changes, have always remained intended for residential use, such as Palazzo Caputi in front of the former Bourbon prison, Palazzo Annichiarico Petruzzelli located next to the Castle in the homonymous square, Palazzo Giandolfi and Palazzo Jannuzzi, all homes of important individuals of the time that still today belong to the descendants of the noble families from which each takes its name.
On the site of origin of the Church of San Cataldo, just outside the town center and next to the Vallone stream, today it is possible to visit the Church and convent of San Francesco dei Frati Minori, the most important religious complex in eastern Irpinia. The current building is a survivor of numerous collapses due to earthquakes over the centuries: after the earthquakes of 1456, 1703 and finally 1930, the current structure not only features unchanged elements of the original, but has also had the opportunity to expand thanks to its reconstructions. Today the convent, built in the mid-16th century, is divided into two floors: a lower one where the kitchen and the workshops where the wool is worked are located, and an upper one which houses the friars' rooms. Inside the church we find elements that have been preserved over time, such as a precious wooden walnut choir of great interest and artistic importance, made by an anonymous friar who presumably used parts of a much older choir. The elements preserved over time include a 17th-century painting depicting Saint Jerome; a marble altar; a canvas belonging to the 16th or 17th century depicting Saint Francis in ecstasy between two angels, today attributable to the Neapolitan school of the 17th century, since sensitive reflections have been noted that can be traced back to the teachings of Caravaggio, or Guarini; and finally, two 19th century wooden statues: the first of the Immaculate Conception built in Campobasso around 1600 and the other, dating back to 1704, which reproduces the Incoronata of Foggia. read less
