Chiesa della Concezione di Maria

The Church of the Concezione di Maria (Conception of Mary) of Candida is located in Piazzetta Montevergine, at the intersection of the road of the same name and Via Provinciale.

There is no certain information about its construction, although a document dating back to 1357 indicates the previous existence of a monastery in the same square where the present Church stands. The religious building is also known as the "Monastery of Montevergine": in fact, the Filangieri's strong devotion to the Madonna of Montevergine favoured the acquisition of the land by the Benedictine monks who, after an initial restoration in the 16th century by the Prior Melchiorre Cerzo from Candida, raised it to an abbey in the following century.  
After a period of abandonment, caused by the French occupation and the subsequent abolition of feudalism, the Reformed Fathers of the province of Sant'Angelo di Puglia settled there in the second half of the 19th century and remained until the early 20th century when the building was auctioned off and bought by Serafino Angelico, Bishop of Avellino, who renovated it for use as the diocese's summer seminary.

The Church of the Concezione di Maria (Conception of Mary), enriched by a large painting depicting the Madonna of Montevergine, is in Baroque style, with square pillars. In the adjoining bell tower, there is a celestial-sounding bell, cast in 1594 and bearing a beautiful couplet. All that remains of the monastery are the ruins of the square cloister, which can be entered through a large stone door with two sculpted lions at the base, placed as guardians of the monastery, and the monumental well built in 1644. Finally, on the wide road in front of the Church, there is a beautiful and elegant thermite cross with a cross on top and the coats of arms of the town and the monks at the bottom.

The Church of the Concezione di Maria (Conception of Mary) of Candida is a strong and evident testimony to the presence of the Benedictine fathers of Montevergine and still resists the elements.