Ruderi del Castello del Litto

The ruins of the Castle of the Litto are all that is left of the fortress that once stood in Mugnano del Cardinale, on the hill of the same name in the mountains of Avella.

The medieval fortress was built in the 7th century by the Lombards, on a site of 6,300 m² surrounded by walls moulded to the shape of the hillside, forming an arch. During the Angevin period, the Castle of the Litto was granted to Tommaso Scillato before passing to his son Riccardo, chamberlain to King Robert of Anjou, in about 1300. The fortress then had a succession of owners, the last of whom were the Orsini family, who managed the building until 1428. The commissioning of the Palace of Aragon by Cardinal John of Aragon towards the end of the 15th century led to the gradual abandonment of the fortress, of which only a few ruins remain, half-hidden among the dense greenery.

Nevertheless, the remains of the ancient fortress are clear evidence of the local community’s medieval past.