Montoro

The Municipality of Montoro is located within the area of the Irno Valley. It's a city of 19,568 inhabitants, located 190 meters above sea level and 14 km from Avellino. The territory extends for 40.14 sq km and the adjoining municipalities are: Bracigliano, Calvanico, Contrada, Fisciano, Forino, Mercato San Severino and Solofra. 
The etymology of the name seems to come from the Catalogus Baronum (1150-1168) and derives from a compound of the noun “monte” and the Latin torus, a term understood as “rise of earth”, “rounded hill” or “fortress”. The inhabitants are called Montoresi and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino is their patron saint. 
 

PLACES OF INTEREST

• Macchiarelli Palace - It stands out for the valuable decorative apparatus that adorns the halls, testifying to the economic strength of the aristocratic owners
• Museum of Peasant and Craft Activities - Located in the hamlet of San Bartolomeo, the building has an architectural development on several levels 
• Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Saint Mary of the Angels)- Imposing religious structure dating back to the 18th century, with adjoining Convent of the Friars Minor Observant: it is located at the entrance of the hamlet of Torchiati and preserves a splendid cloister
• Galiani Pironti Palace - 18th-century mansion, owned by the family of the Barons Galiani and the Counts Pironti: it has cellars with tapestries and a large garden with an artistic design, adorned with rare and centuries-old plants with a high tower and terrace
• Saint Michael’s Cave - Also called “Angel's Cave”, it is a natural cavity located in a beautiful hill between Mount Bufoni and Mount Romola: it was a tribute that the Lombards dedicated to their patron saint, Saint Michael the Archangel
• Sanctuary of Maria SS. Incoronata (Saint Mary the Crowned) - Place of worship with uncertain origins, although it already existed before the second half of the 8th century, during the rule of Arechi II who founded the Abbey of Santi Pietro e Paolo (Saints Peter and Paul)
• Lombard Castle - Located in the hamlet of Borgo, in a panoramic position, one can see the mighty ruins of the medieval Lombard castle, already existing in the year 887, when it belonged to Guaiferio
• Borgo di Aterrana - Small and historic hamlet of Montoro with the Church of San Martino and the Church of Montevergine, the Pierri, De Feo and Carolis Palaces, the ancient well and the fountain
• Other - Chapel of the Assunta (Assumption), Chapel of San Rocco, Chapel of the SS. Rosario (Most Holy Rosary), Church Chapel of the Immacolata (Immaculate Conception) Church of the Addolorata (Our Lady of Sorrows), Church of Sant’Alfonso (Saint Alphonsus), Church of the Madonna del Soccorso (Our Lady of Perpetual Help), Church of the Madonna delle Grazie (Our Lady of Graces), Church of the Madonna of Loreto (Our Lady of Loreto), Church of Maria SS. del Carmine e S. Felice (Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Felix), Church of Saints Giovanni Battista e Nicola da Tolentino (Saint John the Baptist and Nicholas of Tolentino), Church of Santa Maria a Zita e San Bartolomeo (Saint Bartholomew), Church of Santa Maria del Carmine (Saint Mary of Mount Carmel), Church of Santa Maria di Costantinopoli (Our Lady of Constantinopli), Church of San Pietro a Resicco (Saint Peter in Resicco), Church of San Rocco (Saint Roch), Church of San Valentiniano Vescovo (Saint Valentinian the Bishop), Church of Santi Eustachio and Antonio Abate (Saints Eustace and Anthony the Abbot), Church of Santi Leucio and Pantaleone (Saints Leucius and Pantaleon), Church of Santi Vito e Stefano (Saints Vitus and Stephen), Church of Santi Nome di Dio (Holy Name of God), Church of the SS. Sacramento (Most Holy Sacrament), Church of the SS. Salvatore and Martino (Holy Saviour and Saint Martin), Ruins of the Sanctuary of San Cipriano     

EVENTS

• Bonfire of Saint Anthony - Traditional event that takes place on 17 January and is called o’foculario
• Carnival - Celebrations that accompany Shrove Tuesday with masks and allegorical floats
• Pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of the Madonna Incoronata (Our Lady Crowned) - Ancient tradition that takes place on the Tuesday after Easter, with a pilgrimage in honour of the Madonna, the blessing of the animals and a walk three times around the Sanctuary
• Artichoke Festival - Food and wine event that takes place in May, in the hamlet of Preturo
• Fire of the Bell Tower of Saints Peter and Paul - Traditional event held on 29 June in the hamlet of San Pietro, with the fireworks show in which fires, colours and music come together creating a unique show
• Porcino Mushroom Festival - Food and wine event that takes place in July in the hamlet of Torchiati: a significant event for those who love the simple and genuine things of our land
• Banzano Potato Festival - Food and wine event that takes place in July in the hamlet of Banzano with typical local products, food stands, music and dishes made with the use of the potato grown in the territory
• Feast of the Most Holy Saviour - Patronal feast that takes place in August in the hamlet of Torchiati, in honour of the Most Holy Saviour
• Patronal Feast of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino - Celebrations that take place in September in the hamlet of Borgo      

TYPICAL FOOD AND PRODUCTS

• Cipolla Ramata di Montoro PAT (Montoro Copper Onion) - The name “copper” is due to the typical copper colour of the outer layer of the onion’s bulb; particularly appreciated on the domestic and foreign market, for its sweet taste and intensely aromatic scent
• Artichoke of Montoro PAT - Product with exceptional quality characteristics, its cultivation has developed mainly near two local springs: it is customary to cover them with terracotta cups to defend them from frost
• San Marzano Tomato PDO - Known and appreciated all over the world for its characteristics, which are enhanced by the transformation into “peeled tomatoes”
• Mortarella Hazelnut - Hazelnut typical of the territory with the production of Mortarella with elongated fruit 
• Serino Chestnut PGI - Among the best varieties of chestnuts in Italy, as well as the most exported to international markets 
• Melannurca Campana PGI - The “Queen of Apples”, with characteristic aroma and very fine scent
• Caciocavallo Silano PDO - Semi-hard cheese, with spun curd, produced with milk from different breeds of cows, including Podolica      

FUN FACTS

By Decree signed by the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella on April 28, 2015, pursuant to art. 18 of Legislative Decree 267/200, Montoro was granted the honorary title of City. 
The municipality is, today, composed of fifteen hamlets: Aterrana, Banzano, Borgo, Caliano, Chiusa, Figlioli, Misciano, Piano, Piazza di Pandola, Preturo, San Bartolomeo, San Felice, San Pietro, Sant’Eustachio and Torchiati. 
 

HISTORICAL NOTES

The territory of Montoro was certainly inhabited since prehistoric times: the first settlements of the Mesolithic age, dating back to the VI-V millennium BC, have been identified, in fact, in a cave in the locality of Aterrana.  
Until 1829, Montoro constituted a single administrative reality, with an organ called "decurionato". Later, from the fragmentation of its hamlets into two distinct municipalities, Montoro Superiore and Montoro Inferiore were born. At the fall of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the entire territory, which was included in the Intendancy of the Citra Principality, corresponding to the province of Salerno, became part of the province of Avellino. 
On 3 December 2013, following the final referendum of May of the same year, the Municipality of Montoro was established, born from the merger of the two previous municipal realities.

Montoro is a range of gastronomic heritage and places in the heart to be experienced