Andretta

The Municipality of Andretta is located in the area of Upper Irpinia. It's a town with 1,794 inhabitants, located 850 metres above sea level, at 70 km from Avellino. The territory extends for 43.61 sq km and the adjoining municipalities are: Bisaccia, Cairano, Calitri, Conza della Campania, Guardia Lombardi and Morra De Sanctis.
The etymology of the name seems to derive from local surnames, such as Andretta, Andrietta or Andrietti; while according to others it has Greek origins ανδρεία (andreia), i.e. "fortress". The inhabitants are called Andrettesi and Saint Anthony of Padua is their patron saint.

PLACES OF INTEREST

Museum of Peasant and Artisan Civilization - Museum with about 1,000 artefacts that testify to ancient crafts, including hatter, farrier, carpenter, cobbler, agricultural tools and objects related to peasant life
Church of Santa Maria Assunta (Our Lady of the Assumption) - Mother Church dating back to the 16th century, located on a terracing
Mount Airola - Hill that stands on the side of the village, where there is a beautiful pine forest with a picnic area, a cross and religious statues of great symbolic value, and from which you can enjoy a splendid view
Sanctuary of the Stella Mattutina (Morning Star) - Also known as “Virgin Morning Star”, it's a religious structure annexed to the old convent, founded by the Cistercian Fathers in the 16th century
Church of Santa Maria del Carmine (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) - Religious building, next to which a Carmelite monastery was founded
Castle Ruins - Only the site of the castle remains, at the highest point of Andretta
Other - Di Guglielmo Palace, Fontana dei Pioppi, War Memorial, Croci obelisk, Francesco Tedesco statue, Incoronatella Church, Chapel of the Purgatory, Church of Maria SS. dell'Annunziata (Holy Mary of the Annunciation), Church of San Giovanni Battista (Saint John the Baptist)

EVENTS

Madonna Stella del Mattino - Religious feast that takes place on the last Saturday and the last Sunday of May, with a procession characterized by three turns around the Sanctuary of the Morning Star
L'Incoronatella - Religious feast that takes place on the last Sunday of April
Patronal Feast - Celebrations in honour of Saint Anthony which are held on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of September

TYPICAL FOOD AND PRODUCTS

Cheek lard of Formicoso PAT - Triangular cut of pork, obtained from the cheek of the pig, with a component of high-quality fat
Cinguli - Handmade pasta cavatelli with meat sauce
Sfrittuliata - Plate with pork, potatoes and pickled peppers
Peparuli chini - Pickled peppers, stuffed with bread crumbs, oregano, raisins and salted anchovies
Pizza re Granurinio - Yellow pizza with corn flour to combine with vegetables
Caciocavallo Silano PDO - Semi-hard, with spun curd, produced with milk from different breeds of cows, including Podolica
Caciocavallo Irpino di grotta PAT - Spun curd cheese, produced with milk from small and medium-sized farms, mainly from brown cattle, traditionally aged in caves

FUN FACTS

Andretta's musical band was in New York on the 12th of October 2016, on the occasion of the great Columbus Day celebrations, the event that annually commemorates the discovery of America.
The mother of the famous singer-songwriter Vinicio Capossela, Antonietta, is a native of Andretta, while the father is from Calitri.

HISTORICAL NOTES

The history of Andretta is very ancient: in fact, the objects of lithic industry found in the area of Pero Spaccone and in other localities of the municipality, such as San Martino, Cervino, Aiafalca and Toppa Schiavi, date back to the Lower Paleolithic, about 2.5 millions of years ago.
The settlement structure was made up of small scattered family-run residential areas (mainly rustic villas), with an agro-pastoral vocation. The fortification of the village was more recent, around the middle of the 6th century AD, and it followed the Byzantine scheme for the defensive strategy and control of the territory.