Surrounded by woods and perched on a steep spur overlooking the river Sabato, Prata is a village with ancient origins that has its origins in the early Christian period
Inhabited since ancient times, the first nucleus of settlements dates back, however, to the Lombard domination of the sixth century after Christ. The fief of Prata over the centuries has been held by various noble families, the most important being that of the Zamagna of Dubrovnik who lived in the current Baronial Palace which read more
Surrounded by woods and perched on a steep spur overlooking the river Sabato, Prata is a village with ancient origins that has its origins in the early Christian period
Inhabited since ancient times, the first nucleus of settlements dates back, however, to the Lombard domination of the sixth century after Christ. The fief of Prata over the centuries has been held by various noble families, the most important being that of the Zamagna of Dubrovnik who lived in the current Baronial Palace which takes its name from the Dalmatian dynasty, before passing into the hands of the Di Marzo who they ceded the building to the Municipality in 1925. Erected on the remains of an ancient medieval manor of the thirteenth century, the building was at the center of all the main historical events of Prata. Inside this majestic building there are ceilings frescoed by naturalistic and mythological subjects and the ancient Chapel of San Michele accessible both from the arch of the building and from the private room of the baron.
Among the oldest monuments in all of Irpinia, the Basilica Maria Santissima dell'Annunziata is the place of greatest historical, archaeological and architectural interest in the whole of the Sabato Valley. Its extraordinary importance in the history of art and Christianity is testified by the royal visit that Umberto di Savoia made to the throne of Italy in January 1932. In the square in front of the basilica, the remains of two very ancient concentric churches emerged. these probably date back to the Lombard age. The current basilica has several prominent elements such as two columns with Corinthian capitals, the representation of the Praying Virgin from the Byzantine age and several frescoes inside the Grotta dell’Angelo, created in a ravine where an early Christian Catacomb stood in the 6th century. read less
