San Nicola Baronia

The Municipality of San Nicola Baronia is located in the Baronia area. It's a village with 763 inhabitants, located 610 metres above sea level, at 55 km from Avellino. The territory extends for 6.9 sq km and the adjoining municipalities are: Carife, Castel Baronia, Flumeri, San Sossio Baronia and Trevico.
The etymology of the name comes from the patron saint of the community, while the specific “Baronia” has a double meaning: it refers, in fact, both to the area in which the village falls (Baronia di Vico), and to the fact it belonged, as “barony”, to its ancient Lords. The inhabitants are called Sannicolesi and Saint Nicholas of Bari is their patron saint.

PLACES OF INTEREST

Park of the Water Mills - Located at the foot of the Ralla hill, two recently renovated mills are found there
Hermitage of the Addolorata (Our Lady of Sorrows) - Place of devotion to the Passion of Christ, it is preceded by fifteen chapels that preserve bronze images of the Via Crucis
Fountain - Built in white stone, it is characterised by the impressive flow of one of the mouths. Its website also includes the Wash House
Church of SS. Annunziata (Most Holy Annunciation) - Parish church rebuilt in 1991, known for its three-level bell tower and Gothic arched window
Church of San Pasquale Baylon (Saint Paschal Babylon) - Recently restored, it stands out for its beautiful pink façade
Crenellated Tower - Built in the 1930s to house, in the beginning, the town’s clock
Amphitheatre of the Arts - Inaugurated in 2016, it hosts cultural, artistic and musical events
Woods and Springs of Baronia - Special protection area that extends to the border with Puglia

EVENTS

Baronia Bonfires - Project to rediscover the ancient tradition of bonfires, accompanied by musical performances, gastronomic routes and nature trails
Feast of Saint Nicholas - Festivities in honour of the patron saint, accompanied by traditional bonfires and the festival of “lu Callariell”, held in December
Feast of Saint Paschal Baylon - Religious celebrations in honour of the town’s patron saint, held in May
Sant’Rock - Music festival coinciding with the Feast of Saint Roch, held in August

TYPICAL FOOD AND PRODUCTS

Curnciell’ a Callariell’ PAT - Sun-dried round peppers, filled with olive oil and heated in ashes
Irpinia Colline dell’Ufita PDO - Extra virgin olive oil deriving largely from the Ravece variety, characterised by a pleasant bitter and spicy taste
Caciocavallo irpino di grotta PAT - Spun curd cheese, produced with milk from small and medium-sized farms, from mainly Bruna cattle, traditionally aged in caves
Caciocavallo Silano PDO - Semi-hard cheese, with spun curd, produced with milk from different breeds of cows, including Podolica

FUN FACTS

In San Nicola Baronia the tradition of “fascedde” is still widespread, that is, baskets obtained through the weaving of rush.
The village hosted, between 2015 and 2016, the “European Music Festival”, with the participation of several artists of national and international importance.

HISTORICAL NOTES

The first archaeological finds, dating back to the Iron Age (9th-8th century BC) and found in the municipal territory of San Nicola Baronia, have brought to light numerous pit tombs, with a wealth of grave goods. Other remains of Samnite and Roman origin have been recovered in Acqua dei Salici, where, presumably, a village was established, on the perimeter of which a large rustic villa was built in the Imperial period.
In the 13th century, Anna de Bruveriis, to defend her fief from enemy invasions, had the villages of Carife and San Nicola, initially called San Nicola ad Salices, built at the foot of Trevico. The numerous earthquakes in the Ufita Valley caused, on several occasions, the destruction of the original village, forcing the population to settle near Vallone San Nicola, near a stream to which it owes a second denomination, San Nicola ad Ripas.
However, another series of devastating seismic phenomena caused considerable damage to the second settlement, to the point of inducing the community to move to the area where the current village stands, assuming its current name.