Walking among its ruins, visitors can immerse themselves in a timeless dimension, discovering stories of resilience, culture and collective memory.

• 06 Jun 2023
• REPERTUR
• Borghi Antichi

Suspended between a glorious past and a present of great interest, Aquilonia preserves the remains of the ancient Carbonara, the Pompeii of Irpinia.

The village, of medieval origins, has changed its name several times throughout its history. Since the Samnite era it was known as Carbonara, probably due to the presence in its territory of particular schistose stones that burn with a live flame without being consumed but producing heat that can still be found today in the Sassano district.

After the unification of Italy it took the name of Aquilonia to also erase that anti-unification spirit that moved some pro-Bourbon popular uprisings led by the bandit Crocco. After the Vulture earthquake of 23 July 1930 the village was rebuilt in a higher place, while the old town was definitively abandoned in the post-war period.

Today, only a few ruins remain of the ancient Carbonara, which nevertheless preserve the original urban layout, protected and enhanced by the Archaeological Park of the same name.

CARBONARA ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK

Of considerable historical interest, less than 1 kilometer from the town center, stands the Archaeological Park of Carbonara, a place of historical memory for all the people of Aquilona.

Inside, it is possible to rediscover Piazza Municipio with its original paving where the wings of the Church of San Giovanni and the Immaculate Conception, the town hall, and the prisons have been restored, joined by an 18th-century baroque fountain that develops - unique in its kind - on two levels.

MUSEUM OF TRAVELING CITIES

Inside the Archaeological Park of Carbonara there is also the Museum of Traveling Cities, a place of living memory and an exhibition space that collects photos, graphics, explanatory panels and period films that tell the story of life in Italian villages devastated and rebuilt due to seismic events, war or episodes of another nature, just like the ancient urban center of the town of Aquilonia.

Set up inside a charming palace recovered and restored in the ancient village of Carbonara, the Museum of Traveling Cities preserves precious historical and social testimonies of those places that were razed to the ground and then rebuilt in different sites and highlights the great work of revaluation and promotion of the original villages, which are given new light, to revive them while maintaining their deep-rooted identity.

ETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUM “BENIAMINO TARTAGLIA”

The Ethnographic Museum "Beniamino Tartaglia", dedicated to the material culture of traditional peasant society, typical of the internal areas of the southern Apennines, forms with the Museum of Traveling Cities a whole in the cultural offering of Aquilona.

The museum, among the largest in Italy and of regional importance, recovers and recalls the memory of the life, work and culture of peasant and artisan society between the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

The museum space is spread over two levels for an extension of about 1,500 square meters and presents itself as a very complex exhibition path that unfolds through 130 thematic environments that reproduce with extreme fidelity the artisan workshops and other domestic and work environments such as the farmyard, the school or the peasant home through 15 thousand objects and various agricultural machines that find refuge in an external area of ​​other 500 square meters.

ABBEY OF SAN VITO

With its characteristic hut shape supported by a bell tower that extends over three levels before ending with a pyramidal spire, the Abbey of San Vito is one of the most particular and beloved religious buildings by the people of Aquileia.

The entrance to the Abbey is characterized by a papal coat of arms, dominated by a plaque with an inscription from 1731. The square portal, with a central architrave, on which stands a large rectangular window, gives access to the interior where you can admire a wooden statue of Santo Vito, dating back to the 13th century, a basin for ablutions and the holy water stoup from the first half of the 18th century and the Cross of Indulgences granted in 1901 by Pope Leo XIII.

THE OAK OF SAN VITO

Located in the area in front of the Badia di San Vito, the Oak of San Vito is one of the green patriarchs of Campania, one of the most important elements wrapped in spiritual sacredness in the entire region. Its dome shape, with branches that almost touch the ground, and its considerable size make the surrounding landscape particularly suggestive.

It is said that when someone tried to cut down the oak tree to make firewood, at the first blow the axe would get stuck in the trunk without the possibility of extracting it, while the branches, in turn, would cry tears of blood. Only when the criminals gave up their intentions would the oak return the axe the following night and the branches would stop their sad weeping.

For centuries, on May 9th and June 15th and 16th the community has gathered under the shade of the great oak tree for the celebrations in honor of the patron saint of Aquilonia.