Perched on three hills, Altavilla Irpina with its alleys, its Renaissance palaces and its churches and its historical and religious re-enactments dominates the middle valley of Sabato
Probably mentioned in Virgil's Aeneid with the name of Poetilia, it had its primordial development in the Lombard period around the Castle of Altacuada, of which today, however, there are no more traces. But it was in the Norman period that the village took on its current appearance with the domination of the De read more
Perched on three hills, Altavilla Irpina with its alleys, its Renaissance palaces and its churches and its historical and religious re-enactments dominates the middle valley of Sabato
Probably mentioned in Virgil's Aeneid with the name of Poetilia, it had its primordial development in the Lombard period around the Castle of Altacuada, of which today, however, there are no more traces. But it was in the Norman period that the village took on its current appearance with the domination of the De Capua family who chose the name of Alta Villa for this area. From this period is the construction of the Baronial Palace, one of the most admirable examples of the Campania Renaissance, initiated by Andrea De Capua to celebrate his marriage to Constance of Chiaromonte, queen and divorced wife of King Ladislao D'Angiò Durazzo. The manor is now home to conferences and exhibitions as well as an essential stage in the historical re-enactment of the Watermelon Palio, which is run on the back of a mule. Finally, with the discovery at the end of the nineteenth century of one of the most important sulfur deposits in all of Campania, the town radically changed its appearance.
Another essential appointment for the whole Altavillese community is the rite of the Battenti di San Pellegrino which since 1780 has been revived in the alleys and streets of the village, attracting thousands of devotees of the patron saint of Altavilla from all the neighboring municipalities. The doors, dressed in a white tunic surmounted by a red sash, walk beating their bare feet on the ground to pay homage to the Saint with flowers and candles, arriving in the village from the early hours of the day from Avella, Baiano, Manocalzati, Montefredane, Mugnano del Cardinal, Picarelli di Avellino, Roccarainola and Starze di Summonte, to reach the Sanctuary of the Holy Martyrs Pellegrino and Alberico Crescitelli where they renew their vow promise. read less
