The medieval village MONTIS VIRIDIS (MONTEVERDE), which was a bishop's seat in the 11th century, Monteverde was founded in an area frequented since the Neolithic. On one of the three hills on which Monteverde stands, the Serro dell'Incoronata, walls dating back to the 4th-3rd century BC are visible; some scholars in the past tended to identify this site in Cominium. In any case, Monteverde was founded in an area frequented since the Neolithic. The subsequent presence of the Romans is evidenced n read more
The medieval village MONTIS VIRIDIS (MONTEVERDE), which was a bishop's seat in the 11th century, Monteverde was founded in an area frequented since the Neolithic. On one of the three hills on which Monteverde stands, the Serro dell'Incoronata, walls dating back to the 4th-3rd century BC are visible; some scholars in the past tended to identify this site in Cominium. In any case, Monteverde was founded in an area frequented since the Neolithic. The subsequent presence of the Romans is evidenced not only by the remains of a bridge, known as "Ponte Pietra dell'Oglio", but also by the repeated findings in the area of precious Roman art objects, ancient armor, coins and finds from Greek colonies. The Roman historian Titus Livius mentions the Samnite village of Cominium Ocritum, touched by Hanno, Hannibal's general, during the Second Punic War. The historian Nicola Fierro, in his study on the battle of Aquilonia, identifies Cominium Ocritum with Monteverde. This identification is also claimed by Cerreto Sannita, later known in Latin as Cominium Cerritum. The name Cominium is Oscan, that is, Samnite, and is identical to the Cominium whose name is preserved in the Valle di Comino and in San Donato Val di Comino. The name Cominium seems to refer to the places where the meetings (comitia) were convened; there was probably one for each Oscan-speaking population or tribe. In fact, the presence of the toponym is attested for Marrucini, Equicoli, Pentri and Irpini. The village arose in the Middle Ages. In the 11th century it became a bishop's seat and had its own bishop until 1531, the year in which the diocese of Monteverde was united with the diocese of Canne. From 1532 to 1641 it constituted the Lordship of Monteverde for the Grimaldi Princes of Monaco Marquises of Campagna. In 1513, the feudal lord was Ferdinando Orsini, Duke of Gravina; in 1695 the Royal Treasury sold Monteverde to Sangermano Giacinto Jeronimo, Bishop of Nusco and to Sangermano Michele, who became Baron of Monteverde, taking possession of the Castle located at the top of the town. In 1694, a terrible earthquake hit Monteverde hard. The Baronial Castle of the Sangermano and the Cathedral of Santa Maria di Nazareth are certainly worth a visit.
The Baronial Castle of the Sangermano. If it is likely that the summit of the mountain on which the Castle is located was already used in ancient times to build Irpinian fortifications, certainly, the Lombards built a defensive fortress there in the Early Middle Ages, in the 9th century. To the trapezoidal structure, during the Middle Ages four corner towers were added, two cylindrical and two square, one of which can be seen in the image on the left, and a drawbridge, now disappeared, but whose existence can be deduced from the entrance structure visible in the image on the right. The further modifications undergone by the Castle over the centuries were significant, but did not significantly change its original layout. In fact, the interventions of the 15th and 19th centuries, which gave it its current configuration, did not alter the characteristics of the Aragonese fortress. Even today, observing the Castle, you can clearly see the loopholes and rectangular windows delimited by small square blocks of travertine. The entire defensive structure, made using rough-hewn and worked local stone, was built above the rock that emerges in several places at the base of the castle. Around the Castle, the medieval village gradually aggregated, whose network of streets, alleys, stairways and small squares still characterizes the urban path of the old part of the town.
The parish church dedicated to S. Maria di Nazareth, built in the first centuries after the year one thousand. Monteverde was a bishop's seat from 1049 to 1818: in the first period, 1049-1531, it was a small diocese that included Carbonara and Cairano, and was the birthplace of San Giordano, abbot of S. Maria di Pulsano, second abbot of the Pulsanesi order. The episcopal seat was erected shortly before the 11th century and is mentioned in some documents at the Vatican; from 1531 it was incorporated into the diocese of Canne and Nazareth (in 1604 Cardinal Maffei Barberini, the future Pope Urban VIII, became bishop of this diocese).
In recent years, the Borgo di Monteverde has been the subject of a series of interventions on the initiative of the Municipal Administration aimed at improving its reception by calibrating it for accessible hospitality. In this regard, following the meeting of the different abilities "AN ACCESSIBLE COUNTRY" whose first edition dates back to 2006, a path of local development has been undertaken that has as its central theme "Accessible Tourism". The interventions carried out to date and/or in the process of being completed are:
a) a tactile/plantar path of almost 5 km with audio guide and positioning device that, crossing the entire village, systematises the historical/artistic resources present;
b) the multimedia museum of grain and women inside the castle, also accessible to disabled people
c) a hospitality structure for disabled people with 82 beds, with spaces for indoor and outdoor shows, whose structural project is being finalized and for which it is necessary to acquire the furniture and equipment
Thanks to the action of the local administration, the municipality of Monteverde is a member of the Club “Borghi più belli d’Italia”, in 2017 and was among the protagonists of the challenge “il Borgo dei Borghi” broadcast by RAI 3, ranking 2nd, in 2018 for the same broadcast it was classified among the finalists.
In 2018, the municipality of Monteverde was awarded the “Cento Mete d’Italia” prize organized by the Dell'Anna Eventi association with the Rde publishing house with the patronage of the Senate. The 100 Mete d'Italia Award, aims to give value to the best experiences created by public administrations for the concrete improvement of the quality of life of citizens, with a view to sustainability and promotion of culture. Monteverde recently won the special European 'accessible city' award 2019, "Access City Award 2019" from the EUROPEAN COMMISSION; the first municipality with fewer than 50 thousand inhabitants to receive the European award, traditionally given to those cities that promote initiatives to support accessibility read less
