Calitri and surroundings areas
Lacedonia
Lacedonia: Altitude of 732m, 3004 inhabitants, an agricultural centre suited to holidays with artisanal activities ( dairy production, wool ), assembled atop a hill with a vast panorama.
As attested by findings of lithic arms, the small town arose into an inhabited zone at the end of the Neolithic age. Occupied by Hannibal after Canne, it was identified with the ancient Aquilonia, an Irpinian city conquered by the ancient romans in 293 BC and was known by the name of Akudunniad in the archaic Oscan language. Destroyed by the earthquake of 4th December 1456, it was rebuilt by lord Giovanni Antonio Orsini with four city walls and four respective doors. In the ancient cathedral on the nights of 10th-11th September 1486, amidst the conspiracy of the barons against Ferdinando I of Aragona, Lacedonia was sworn to the consecrated Ostia. It was then that the lord of Lacedonia, Pirro of Balzo was put to death with the rest of the conspirators. Federico of Aragona known as Baldassarre Pappacoda in the feud, erected a Castello in 1500, transformed today into a dwelling. The small town, damaged by the earthquake in 1930 was mainly reconstructed and newly damaged by the seism of 1980. It was the cathedral seat of the eleventh century.
Cathedral: In the piazza De Sanctis, with the monument to Francesco De Sanctis ( who chose Lacedonia as his constituency) that looks onto the building of Seminario and the church of S.Fillippo, with a roman plaque set in the wall and a beautiful stone portal, which was restored after the earthquake of 1930. Inside the cathedral, in one of the naves, noteworthy altars made of polychromatic marble can be found. From the piazza following the course of Giovanni Amendola, the Cathedrale (Assunta) ajoins, which was reconstructed in 1935 following the destruction of the earthquake of 1930; also struck by the seism of 1980, it was reconstructed and reopened as a cultural exhibit in 1988. From the exterior the remains of the doors of the ancient cathedral can be seen; as well as the bell tower and three square floors of the old cathedral. Inside, the three naves are separated by pillars, also made of marble polychrome; and pulpits and choirs of engraved wood. In the nearby Episcope one can find a triptych recalling the figuration of the Virgin with the child and the S.s. Giovanni Battiista, Michele Arcangelo e Nicola, attributed to Francesco da Tolentino ( at end of the 15th century). In Lacedonia, there figures a separate section entitled S.Gerardo Maiella, of the Diocesan museum from ancient Irpinia- Lacedonia, positioned on the ground floor of the ancient palace seat. In the nearby Listening wood mineral water flows from the spring.
Leaving the occupied dwelling and continuing a little lower on the edge of the State of Formicoso, lies the Chapel of Consolation of antique origin, it was not remade in order to preserve the primitive construction of the noteworthy stone portals; a little after, the dome of the Trinity follows, so it crosses the floor of the tree, between two rows of houses built after the 1930 earthquake and at 44.8km it meets a road for Monteverde and the lakes of Monticchio.
Monteverde
The road for Monteverde and the lakes of Monticchio: 30.3 km long, known first as an important panoramic province in the south east, and then as characteristic of the State of 167, of the lakes of Monticchio. The road runs on the back of a mountainous and solitary country path between Ofanto and Osento. It's tributary runs on the left and then after 13.5km it reaches Monteverde: 740m altitude, 909 inhabitants, an agricultural and commercial centre that lies on the ridge of a hillock, dominating the valley of Ofanto. Inhabited from antiquity, it came into being in the Medieval era and boasted a vast polygonal fortress from 4th century BC. The crown was taken locally: it was the stronghold of the families of Balbano, Garliardo, Stendardo, Orsini, Grimaldi and Sangermano. It was the Episcopal seat in about the 9th century. In 1531, Clement VII united it with Nazareth, with the seat at Barletta, which was abolished in 1818. Monteverde is the birthplace of the beautified Giordano, who died in 1145 as well as the archbishop of Conza, Antonio Buglione (1853-1904). Standing with four cylindrical towers, the Castello is imposing and well-preserved to this day. Today it is used as a dwelling and the municipality ensures its preservation through collected funds of the Graecia Magna; the Parish most probably erected in the 14th century, it was rebuilt first in 1728,and then in 1901.
At the crossroads for Monteverde, one reaches the divide for the valleys of Ofanto and of Calaggio, respectively, with a beautiful circular panorama. At 46.7 km one enters the Puglian region. A little after 47.8km taking a road on the left for Rochetta Sant'Antonio, one goes down into a light wooded region, with a pronounced view of the table of Puglia. Past a corner of the wood of Guardiola, due south and past Ofanto on the bridge of S.Venere, one enters Bascilica at 57.6 km: a pleasant luminous country with rounded hills. At a relatively short distance from the train station of Foggia-Potenza, lies the final feature. One joins Amalfi at 74.6kmm a small and stunning ancient town, interesting for its rich historical artistic traditions.
Saint 'Angelo dei Lombardi
Towards the abbey of Saint Guglielmo at Goleto: On the 6th State, following the other crossroad for Lacedonia and Amalfi, turning due south onto marly hills, one goes down along a small valley that leads to Ofanto: at 59.3 km, a small road (1 km) is encountered on the right that opens onto the abbey of Saint Guglielmo of Goleto: ( tel: 082724432, www.goleto.it) one of the most impressive and evocative monuments of the South of Italy. It was recovered after the seism of 1980 like numerous other parts of the area, amidst a period devoted to the complete renovation of the region's aesthetic.
Founded by Saint Guglielmo of Vercelli around 1133, the abbey was where the saintdom expired on 24th June 1142. Originally it was a double monastery, with incoming funds from the female region, which was known for its splendour in the Norman-Swabian age and at the beginning of the Angevin era. Then came the turbulent and unhappy events of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Just as the female monastery was abolished in 1505 (annexed to the abbey of Montevergine) the Goleto was definitively suppressed in 1807, whilst the body of Saint Guglielmo was moved to Montevergine. Since then, the monastic construct fell into abandonment and in complete ruin, halted only by works of restoration. From 1989, the abbey was inaugurated to the community devoted to Jesus Caritas.
The grand unison of the great walls: The abbey's domination of the countryside of the high valleys of Ofanto attract the eye of the traveller from far away. Past the edge of the first wall, one reaches the inside of the abbey, towards two large doors with curved points, that lead into two cloisters, inside of which various monastic fabrics are laid out. The cloister on the left looks onto the face of the two superimposed churches and the ruins of the main church, erected between 1733 and 1740 by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, which almost rests on the walls of the perimeter. By the side of minor church of the XII century lies a rectangular layout with two aisles depicting the purest Roman puglian style, also a bas-relief is inserted with the female figure of the roman age. Just as one leaves the cloisters, one rises to the main church via a steep slope of small stone stairs. Three brief but important inscriptions in characteristic of the gothic style are inscribed on the door, in the drums and under the small and highly finished rose windows, which date the constuction and the whole of the building to 1247 and 1255. The names of the abbesses that built it, Marina and Scolastica. Lastly, the name of the Saint to who the it was originally dedicated to and those of which were guarding the relics, was Saint Luca.
The inside of the church: if one were to attempt a replication of the plan of that if the minor church, it would be important to comprehend the difficulty of such a task, for the immense luminosity, the acuteness of form, the refined elegance and the perfect proportions, can only be regarded as the work of an artist and his masterpiece. The architecutural style of the Castle del Monte of Federick II comes close to the task with a contemporary reproduction. The development of the abbey within the second cloister, sees the emergence of massive forts, erected in 1152 by the abbess Feronia. Large marble blocks of funereal mausoleum attest to the roman centurion Marco Paccio Marcello, of the fourth Scynthian legion.
Lioni
The Appian Way comes down into beautiful reliefs along the valley of Ofanto, by the train station for Rocchetta S.Antonio. At 55km one takes the road for Lioni (altitude: 550m, 6318 inhabitants), an agricultural and commercial centre with industrial activities, situated on a slope on the left of Ofanto. Amidst the communes damaged by the seism of 1980, one is presented with incredible transformation. Yet there remain signs of what the town once was in the form of a suggestive panorama as well as ethnographic collections on display in the middle school.
The town arose into an inhabited zone at the end of antiquity. In the nearby locality of Oppido Vetere there remain statuettes, coins and antique vases. There are those who maintain that it was an hamlet of Ferentum on Ofanto, destroyed together within the same centre by the romans in order to be delivered to Hannibal after Canne; followed by repopulation with Ligurian deportations. In the Medieval era it conflicted with Oppido and it was feuded amongst the Torricelli, the Zurlo, the Carafa and the Imperials. It was reconstructed completely after the disastrous earthquake of 1694. In conclusion, it is the homeland of the sculptor Pietro Nittoli (xviii century).At the characteristic festa di S.Rocco ( 15-16th August), the manisfestations are cited.
The parish of the betrothed: recently restored and rebuilt appropriate to the locality, with beautiful stone portals, inside, there are three naves divided by pillars; beautiful altars originating from the abbey of Saint Guglielmo of Goleto and a rich decoration in stucco. A primary altar can also be found on the left, an interesting statue of the rank of Pietro Nittoli. There are statues of the Annunciation in the churches of S.S. Annunziata, by the same artist from Lioni, which come out into a nearby small square; as well as a statue of the Visitation, which one finds in the chapel of Saint Maria of Piano, at 1.2 km south-west of the habitat, beyond the river. Also worthy of note on the edge of the small town, on a level ground with the Monument of the fallen, lies the church of the Saint Rocco, that conserves the ancient portal in stone.
Lioni is an excellent start for interesting excursions of Piano Laceno, which can be joined with a scenic country route at 19.5 km, with an ascension to Mount Cervialto ( 30km by road or 6 hours by a path that passes by the Serre of the Lake, then west to M. Oppido and Calvello, then one goes down to the Arian pebble coast and rises again to reach the floor of Sazzano, amidst beechwood found on the mountain top), and at Mount Calvello, 1579 m altitude, there is a vast panorama (12 km by road direct to Paino Laceno, then half an hour by the path due south).
Teora
Teora: the state a little after Lioni, passes over the train station of Avellino-Rochetta Saint Antonio, immediately after the tributary of Ofanto and rises, exceeding the spur between the river and its tributary in Fiumicello; as one reascends to cross this final point, one rejoins at 65 km, Teora, 660 m altitude, 1570 inhabitants, an agricultural centre with some artisanal activities of antique origin. It is dated back to 1098. In the XII century it was called Tugurium Biarium; in following century it was the principality of the Mirelli. It was destroyed by the earthquake of 1694 and again in the earthquake of 1980. Worth seeing are the Feudal Palaces, with antique towers.
One rises to the nearby surroundings of Mount Cresta of Gallo at 885m and passes above the Appennin display of the Puglian acqueducts, exactly on the point where the road almost reaches maximal altitude of 772m; one then rises amidst the scarce arboreal vegetation, with a lot to see on the left on the valley of Ofanto and facing it. The view further on, looks onto the left of the valley of the Sele, at 71.4km and to the Sella di Conza at 697 m, the latter divided between the valleys of Ofanto and of Sele. Noteworthy of mention is the road where the Appia crosses the 91st state, of the valley of the Sele.
SANT'ANDREA DI CONZA
Continuing east and past the deep valley of Arso, one arrives to Saint Andrea of Conza at 78.2km. 665m altitude and 1875 inhabitants, it is an agricultural and commercial centre situated in the middle of the coast of Versante on the left of the valley of Ofanto. An ancient hamlet of the Conza of Campania, it was his affairs that tied together the history of this centre. It was only devolved following the effects of the devastations of the earthquake of 1980, which transformed the surroundings, history and archeological discoveries into a reality within one year: Il Parco storico e archeologico dell'antica Compsa (for information, consult the village). Taking a left turning out of the town, one takes the road to Calitri. 
