Venticano
Hilly landscape with soft slopes and areas of great historical and archaeological value, such as that of Ponterotto, a showcase of excellence also for the production of wines, artisan nougats and quality hams. The town is part of the Union of Medio Calore municipalities
Origin of name: The etymology of the name comes, according to Scipione Bellabona, from Castrum Venticani, following two interpretations: twenty triumphs reported in battle by the Romans, or a village governed by a government of twenty wise men. The inhabitants are called Venticanesi, Sant'Alessio and Santa Maria are their patrons.
Physical geography: Clima caldo e temperato. In Venticano si riscontra molta più piovosità in inverno che in estate. La temperatura media annuale di Venticano è 14.1 °C. Piovosità media annuale di 1058 mm. Il territorio comunale è caratterizzato da un paesaggio morfologico collinare con dislivelli non elevati che danno luogo a pendenze generalmente lievi nelle aree distali delle aste torrentizie o dei valloni mentre, in prossimità delle linee di drenaggio diventano più accentuate. Le quote altimetriche sono comprese tra 183 m s.l.m., alla confluenza tra il torrente Mele e il fiume Calore, e 375 m s.l.m. nel centro storico del comune. Il sistema idrografico è composto da alcune aste torrentizie di limitata portata, affluenti del Fiume Calore, il più importante è il Torrente delle Mele.
Twinning: Ferrara
Points of interest (3)
Typical production (4)
Typical dishes
Menesta and ionna pizza
Yellow flour pizza which can also be combined with pine nuts, raisins and chopped pork fat
Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, with an unmistakable golden color, it is not winter without "Pizza Ionna" (blonde pizza) on the Venticanese tables. Like all traditional recipes, this too was born as a poor recipe: in fact, corn flour was much more accessible than the others and therefore easily purchased. This pizza was actually used to replace bread, because, compared to the latter, it does not require leavening and therefore requires faster preparation. Tradition has it that the ionna pizza is accompanied by mallone made with turnips and potatoes or “sciatizza” vegetables. To be honest, however, I must specify how, in the photos shown, the crispy corn focaccia is accompanied by escarole and cruschi peppers. In ancient times it was cooked on the embers of the fireplace, today it is done in a pan or in the oven. When meat was considered a real wealth, and was consumed only on the most important holidays, people lived purely on vegetables, tubers and everything that was produced from the earth.
History
Venticano was mentioned for the first time in a document dated 881 AD. and it was a possession of the Abbey of Santa Sofia in Benevento: certainly populated since ancient times, it was probably the seat of the original settlement of Venticano. Mentioned again in 1350 in a bull of Pope Clement VI with the name of Castrum Venticani, it was later involved in the struggles between the Angevins and the Aragonese for the possession of southern Italy. In 1527, it was destroyed by the French troops of read more
