Lacedonia

Village in the valley of the Osento stream, a land of strong winds in a breathtaking landscape, where you can listen to the echo of ancient footsteps enchanted by a wild and uncontaminated nature along the paths of the Transhumance. The etymology of the name seems to derive from the language of the Osci, who called this land Akudunniad and which means "Mother Stork"; the stork, not by chance, appears in the symbol of Lacedonia, starting from 212 BC, when this bird took the place of the eagle. Th read more

Village in the valley of the Osento stream, a land of strong winds in a breathtaking landscape, where you can listen to the echo of ancient footsteps enchanted by a wild and uncontaminated nature along the paths of the Transhumance. The etymology of the name seems to derive from the language of the Osci, who called this land Akudunniad and which means "Mother Stork"; the stork, not by chance, appears in the symbol of Lacedonia, starting from 212 BC, when this bird took the place of the eagle. Then called Erdonea, probably by one of its conquerors, it was subsequently called Al Cidonia and Cedogna until 1800, to finally be "Lacedonia". The historical evidence of a glorious past is visible in the ancient walls, in the noble palaces and in the churches of the historic center. On one side of the central square of the village there is a castle, or rather a fortress-palace, known as the Pappacota castle, as it was built in 1500-1501 by Ferdinando Pappacota, who became, in 1496, feudal lord of Lacedonia, by investiture of the King of Naples, Frederick of Aragon. The castle was a noble residence, albeit fortified, where the feudal lord Ferdinando lived, who died there with his wife Cornelia D'Accio. The building was located to the west of the then existing village and was called "New Castle", to distinguish it from the older one, that of the Orsini. The original characteristics of a fortified place stood out both from the three towers and from the numerous architectural elements: moats, loopholes, battlements, mouths for cannons, patrol walk, underground passages. The current structure retains only one of the original towers and part of the main building, due to the damage suffered following the earthquakes that occurred over the centuries. The restorations partially modified the original configuration, maintaining the battlements of the tower on the south side, various arrow slits and the ancient well. When the feudal family of Pappacoda died out, the fief of Lacedonia and the castle were inherited by a nun of the Monastery of Pietrasanta in Naples, who around 1700 sold it (with the fiefs of Rocchetta S. Antonio and Candela) to Andrea Doria Panfili, Prince of Genoa. Once the feudal rights were abolished (1806), the castle was bought by the Onorato family and was registered in the urban land registry. The structure was inhabited until the mid-19th century. The church of Santa Maria Assunta is the cathedral of Lacedonia and co-cathedral of the diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia. It was built towards the end of the 17th century, while the town was going through a serious seismic crisis (the earthquake of 1694 almost completely razed the village of Lacedonia). The works, commissioned by Bishop Gian Battista La Morea, began with the laying of the first stone on 28 September 1689 and were completed in 1709. As a plaque on the wall inside recalls, the cathedral was consecrated on 19 October 1766 by Bishop Nicola D'Amato, who is also responsible for the interior decoration of the building and its elevation to a basilica. Initially with a single nave, the two side naves were added in 1860. The façade presents itself in its gabled shape, with a beautiful central stone portal, and flanked by a bell tower in travertine, built in 1751. The interior, with three naves, preserves works from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The most significant work is certainly a wooden altar from the sixteenth century on which a triptych of fine workmanship is painted, but of uncertain attribution: in the nineteenth century it was attributed to Andrea Sabatini from Salerno, while after the latest restorations it was attributed to Antoniazzo Romano or to a student of his school. The triptych is composed, in its central part, of the figure of the Madonna blessing who holds a swallow in her left hand, while on her sides there are the figures of the saints Peter, John the Baptist, Michael and Nicholas. The figures of the saints were transferred to canvas during the nineteenth century. read less