In the province of Avellino, in Campania, the characteristic village of Monteverde watches from the top of a 700-metre rocky spur the Apennine valley of Campania, between the Osento stream and the Ofanto river. Included in the Most beautiful villages in Italywas awarded in 2019 as the most accessible in our country.
Around 1000, it was conquered by the Normans and later passed from family to family, up to the Orsini, Grimaldi, Caracciolo and Sangermano. These deserve to be mentioned because they transformed the castle from a fortress into a real lordly residence.
The name of the village Monteverde derives from Montis Viridis. The reference is to the vegetation that surrounds the area, namely the Mezzana Forest. An area that has recorded human presence since Neolithic times, occupied by the Samnites and the Hirpinians. Settlements destroyed by the Romans, who built a new castrum. The village developed under the Lombards, from the castle to the slopes of the hill. The first references to a Castrum Montis Viridis, as a military fortress, date back to a parchment of 897.
The Ofanto Valley is now a cultural itinerary and since 2003 a 'landscape archaeology' project of the University of Foggia, which seeks to reconstruct the processes of transformation of agrarian landscapes and the history of human settlement in relation to the environment.
The Monteverde natural territory, included in the Mountain Community Zone Alta Irpinia, includes the San Pietro artificial lake and the Ofanto river with its left tributary, the Osento: it is a 'site of community importance' on a par with the Zampaglione forest, another naturalistic treasure. The lush nature of these places, all equipped with picnic areas, is surprising.
The village is renowned for its pork sausages, such as soppressata, sausage and capocollo, and for its dairy products from wild cattle breeding, such as caciocavallo, scamorza, ricotta, fresh and mature cheese. It also produces, from locally grown barley, the Serro Croce craft beer.
In a warm and cosy atmosphere you can dine at the restaurant-pizzeria Al Giadino by Carlo Pagnotta and his wife Ilaria Pierno. An oasis of peace and tranquillity, an ideal place to stop and savour traditional Irpinian dishes, immersed in the familiar atmosphere of an old house in the historic centre of the village.
