Sant'Angelo a Fasanella

Sant'Angelo a Fasanella is an Italian town of 515 inhabitants in the province of Salerno in Campania; located in the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, it is known for a Neolithic sculpture depicting a warrior, the Antece, carved into the rock, and for a rock church, the cave of San Michele Arcangelo.

Origin of name: The name Sant'Angelo a Fasanella originates from the union of Fasanella, an ancient city destroyed by Frederick II of Swabia, with the hamlet of Sant'Angelo: its coat of arms, in fact, features in the foreground the image of a pheasant, representing the homonymous hamlet. The name Fasanella derives from "Phasis", an ancient Greek city and the name of a river on the border between Asia Minor and Colchis.

The ancient urban center was located in San Manfredi, about 3 km from the current town: the ruins of an ancient castle and those of the church of San Pietro remain. In 1246 the town was razed to the ground by Frederick II with an act of superiority to punish Pandolfo di Fasanella, to whom all his possessions were then returned thanks to the alliance with Charles I of Anjou. Of medieval origin and mold, Sant'Angelo a Fasanella was a fief of the San Severino and Capece-Galeota families; then it be read more

The ancient urban center was located in San Manfredi, about 3 km from the current town: the ruins of an ancient castle and those of the church of San Pietro remain. In 1246 the town was razed to the ground by Frederick II with an act of superiority to punish Pandolfo di Fasanella, to whom all his possessions were then returned thanks to the alliance with Charles I of Anjou. Of medieval origin and mold, Sant'Angelo a Fasanella was a fief of the San Severino and Capece-Galeota families; then it belonged to the Giovine and the powerful Caracciolo family. In the nineteenth century, anticipating the unification of Italy in 1860, it was Sant'Angelo a Fasanella that ignited the spark of the revolt for independence in the Salerno area. Sant'Angelo a Fasanella includes numerous beech forests, such as that of "Terra Forte", that of "Vallone dei Lupi". There are also numerous watercourses that cross it: in addition to the "Cellino" stream and the "Fasanella" river, the "Auso waterfall" is worth mentioning. Located a few kilometers from the town, the site is accessible via the inter-farm carriage road, also called "Auso cave" for the karst phenomenon that can be admired. A few dozen meters from the source, the water, dammed and then channeled for the operation of a now abandoned mill, makes a jump of about eight meters. [4] From 1811 to 1860 it was the capital of the homonymous district belonging to the Campagna district of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. From 1860 to 1927, during the Kingdom of Italy, it was the capital of the homonymous district belonging to the Campagna district. read less