Discover the charm of the village of Andretta, a small town in the province of Avellino, which offers breathtaking views, a timeless atmosphere and traces of a past rich in meaning.

• 09 May 2023
• REPERTUR
• Borghi Antichi

A village that overlooks the Ofanto valley and stands guard over the artificial Conza Dam, Andretta has a thousand-year history that has its roots in the Lower Paleolithic.

Developed in small residential areas in the various localities of Pero Spaccone, San Martino, Aiafalca and Toppa degli Schiavi, Andretta became a village only in the mid-6th century, when the Lombard domination imposed a restyling of what were once rustic villas with an agricultural and pastoral vocation, in favor of an urban plan more attentive to the defense and control of the territory. Its conformation as a fortified outpost, over 800 meters above sea level, most likely also gave the village its name: Andreia, in Greek, in fact, means fortress.

MONTE AIROLA AND PANORAMIC VIEW

A large hill rises near the village of Andretta, crossed by a thick pine forest. It is Mount Airola, a naturalistic gem from which you can enjoy an extraordinary panoramic view of the Ofanto valley and the Tavoliere. If you don't believe it, try walking along the path that winds its way through the pine forest. You will arrive at an equipped area from which you can let your gaze gallop all the way to Puglia.

Walking on Mount Airola you will also come across numerous religious symbols, such as the bronze paintings that reproduce the Passion of Christ, or the various statues of shepherds and other typical traditional figures, which have made this place a characteristic and evocative permanent nativity scene. Furthermore, the cliff has several natural cavities inside which the statues of the Madonna of Fatima and the Madonna of Lourdes have been placed, as well as an imposing metal cross, of great symbolic value for the Andretta community.

MUSEUM OF PEASANT AND ARTISAN CIVILIZATION

With its approximately one thousand exhibits that bear witness to the ancient professions of the hatter, the blacksmith, the cobbler and the many tools linked to life in the fields such as the plow, the clod breaker, the hay cutter, the tridents and the pickaxes, the Museum of Peasant and Artisan Civilization in via Libertà is one of the places of greatest interest in Andretta.

Its numerous rooms preserve the traces of a civilization of ancient rural origins, dedicated to agriculture and craftsmanship divided into spaces that faithfully reproduce environments, both domestic and work, typical of the pre-industrial era.

THE CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA ASSUNTA

With its dome resting on the majestic bell tower that can be seen from the valley, the Church of Santa Maria Assunta dominates the entire village of Andretta.

Built in the 16th century with a single nave plan, the Mother Church of the Andrettesi today presents itself with a larger Baroque layout thanks to the addition of two additional naves. Inside, four altars, with the largest one surmounted by a wooden statue of the Virgin from the 19th century, seven chapels and a wonderful 18th century choir are illuminated by two large windows that open into the semicircular apse wall.

The façade of the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, which rises from a terrace, dominates the scene with its imposing stone portal, the pediment with architraves, the two square windows and the bell tower layout which, most likely, served as a watchtower in the feudal era.

THE SANCTUARY OF THE MORNING STAR

Also known by the Andretta people as the Morning Star, the Sanctuary of the Morning Star, a building annexed to an old convent founded in the sixteenth century by the Cistercian Fathers, is one of the most important and visited places of worship in the entire Ofanto Valley.

A pilgrimage destination par excellence, during the last Saturday and Sunday of May, the Sanctuary is the setting for the “Festa della Mattinella", one of the most beloved religious events in Alta Irpinia. Here, according to an ancient legend, a statue of the Virgin, venerated by the faithful of Vallata, was found. The people of Vallata, thinking it was a theft, took it back, but the statue continued to disappear and to be found early in the morning on an elderberry plant in the Andretta countryside. Hence the decision to comply with the will of the Virgin who chose Andretta as her new home.

At the site of the discovery, therefore, the faithful decided to build a small chapel whose statue, during the Festival, is carried in procession on top of a cart pulled by oxen and followed by the “virgins”, young girls with white dresses and bunches of lilies. The procession starts from Andretta and Vallata, converging at the Sanctuary of Mattinella where the parish priests of the two municipalities and their respective Mayors exchange vestments.