Fontanarosa

Known throughout Italy for the processing of Irpinia breccia, Fontanarosa is the village of granite religious and peasant traditions The history of the village is closely linked to that of Aeclanum, one of the most important Samnite economic and military centers. It was precisely the diaspora generated by the destruction of the settlement on the banks of the Calore by the Lombard hands that led to the birth of Fontanarosa between the seventh and eighth centuries after Christ. City of ancient read more

Known throughout Italy for the processing of Irpinia breccia, Fontanarosa is the village of granite religious and peasant traditions The history of the village is closely linked to that of Aeclanum, one of the most important Samnite economic and military centers. It was precisely the diaspora generated by the destruction of the settlement on the banks of the Calore by the Lombard hands that led to the birth of Fontanarosa between the seventh and eighth centuries after Christ. City of ancient crafts and centuries-old traditions, in Fontanarosa the sacred and the profane have been modeled relentlessly for centuries. The tirata del Carro is a shining example that has its roots in ancient times when the peasants brought wheat in homage to the pagan gods by pulling a cart with the strength of oxen from the countryside. The tradition is still renewed today on August 14 with a straw cart up to the Sanctuary of the Madonna della Misericordia. Fontanarosa, however, is known and appreciated, especially for the ancient art of working the Irpinia breccia, the typical stone that is extracted from the quarries that dot the Fontanarosaro area. An art celebrated throughout Italy and that in Fontanarosa finds space in the Civic Museum, also known as the "Museum of the 3 P", which is spread over three levels and where a very precious 18th century Nativity scene made with elm and olive trees, pieces of the straw wagons pulled over the centuries and, in fact, stonework exhibited in an open space overlooking the Fredane stream. Among these stand out a very faithful reproduction of the Nike of Samothrace and the Gift from Heaven, a fountain made of Carrara marble by the Japanese master Yoshin Ogata. read less