Positioned in a strategic area, Grottaminarda has been a land of passage on the Tyrrhenian-Adriatic route since ancient times, representing a fundamental commercial hub

• 13 Feb 2024
• REPERTUR
• Borghi Antichi

A link on the routes that from the Tyrrhenian Sea reached the Adriatic, Grottaminarda is a crucial hub in the heart of the Ufita Valley.

Grottaminarda is like a lioness that from a dune watches over the ancient trade routes that crossed the Ufita Valley, to join the Tyrrhenian Sea with the Adriatic coast.

The origins of the current village date back to around the 12th century, when the d'Aquino family became owners of the fiefdom and began a series of fortification interventions that led to the construction of the city walls and a fortification that still dominates the landscape of this part of Irpinia.

THE CASTLE OF AQUINO

The ancient fortress, preserved in all its splendor, still has a trapezoidal plan, typical of early medieval buildings, surrounded by Aragonese crenellated walls and embellished by four towers. Of these, three are cylindrical in shape, while one is quadrangular. Over the centuries, the Castle of Grottaminarda has hosted all the feudal families who have taken turns in the area until, in 1988, it was definitively handed over to the municipal administration.

THE ANTIQUARIUM MUSEUM

With the transformation from a fortress to a stately home, with a first floor used as a noble residence and a hanging garden behind it overlooking the Ufita valley, today the Grottaminarda Castle houses the municipal library and the Antiquarium Museum, an exhibition space for the various and numerous finds made in the Ufita Valley, which tells the story and life of the Grottaminarda community from the Bronze and Copper Ages to the present day. The exhibition is divided into two areas, one organized in an archaeological section with fragments, artifacts and ceramic works and a section dedicated to contemporary history

THE ARAGONESE CUSTOMS HOUSE

During the Aragonese domination, Grottaminarda further increased its commercial role by becoming the seat of an important customs house for all the communities in the valley. The building, still present in the urban skyline today, was built to promote and institutionalize the collection of feudal transhumance rights in 1467 by the noble Ladislao d'Aquino along what would become the very busy Strada Nazionale delle Puglie. Expanded in the second half of the 18th century and later used for changing horses and providing refreshments for passengers as a Post Station, the Aragonese Customs House of Grottaminarda was declared a National Monument in 1930.

SANCTUARY OF SANTA MARIA DI CARPIGNANO

A few kilometers from the town center, in the hamlet of Carpignano, stands the Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Carpignano, one of the most beloved places of worship in the entire Ufita Valley. Inaugurated in 1861, it was entrusted to the order of the Mercedarian Fathers at the beginning of the 20th century. Despite the serious damage caused by the 1980 earthquake, the Sanctuary today offers all its simple beauty expressed through a gabled façade, a stone entrance portal surmounted by a niche containing the image of the Madonna and a bell tower that develops on five levels in the center of which stands a clock. The Sanctuary, however, is famous throughout Irpinia as it hosts one of the very rare representations of the Black Madonna in the province, an ancient painting, dated 12th century, in which the Virgin Mary is portrayed with the Child in her arms, an extraordinary Marian icon to which the entire Grottaminarda community is strongly devoted.

THE CIAMBUTTELLA

The ciambuttella is a typical dish of Grottaminarda, which has become part of the PAT of Campania. It is prepared with seasonal vegetables and according to an ancient custom, it is prepared by arranging all the ingredients in this order: the tomato cut into "pacchetelle", that is, following its ribs, the red and green peppers cut into thicker pieces, the diced potatoes, the garlic cloves and the basil leaves.

The ciambuttella can be eaten hot or preserved in glass jars boiled in water for at least an hour so as to represent a provision that can be kept in the pantry and consumed when needed, alone or as a condiment for bread and pasta.

THE SPANTORRONE OF GROTTA

A typical dessert of the culinary tradition of Grottaglie is the Spantorrone whose recipe has been handed down from family to family for centuries. It is a particular type of pantorrone, characterized by a particular friability, a characteristic that has earned it rightfully included in the PAT of Campania.

The original recipe calls for the preparation to take place in the torroniera, where, after heating honey and egg white for many hours, almonds, hazelnuts and vanilla are added. The mixture that comes out is spread out in special molds and covered with slices of sponge cake soaked in rum and Strega liqueur.The original recipe calls for the preparation to take place in the torroniera, where, after heating honey and egg white for many hours, almonds, hazelnuts and vanilla are added. The mixture that comes out is spread out in special molds and covered with slices of sponge cake soaked in rum and Strega liqueur.