Pietrastornina: Rocky Outcrop, Local History and Forests

Pietrastornina combines a fortified rocky outcrop, a medieval settlement and forests in Parco Regionale del Partenio. If you are looking for a hotel for a stay here, you can first consider whether you are more interested in local history and architecture or in the forested mountain landscape. Both themes shape the aspects of the town described here.

Forests, a stream and the heights above Pietrastornina

The municipal area lies in Parco Regionale del Partenio. About 50 percent of the municipal area is covered by forests. The tree species vary with altitude: below 1,000 meters, the forests consist mainly of chestnut coppice and mixed coppice; above 1,000 meters, there are beech forests. The landscape can therefore be described not only by its forest cover but also by this change in forest types.

The Torrente S. Martino runs through the center of Pietrastornina. The heights above the town offer a 360-degree horizon. A mountain road leads to the locality of Acqua delle Vene at 1,170 meters and also to the locality of Toppa Riviezzo at 1,470 meters. The two elevation figures mark different locations within the mountain landscape described here.

Rocky outcrop and medieval town center

Castello di Pietrastornina was built on the large rock pinnacle above the medieval settlement. It is first mentioned in a deed of donation by the Lombard Prince Arechi II, dated November 774. The gradual formation of the original settlement core is a separate matter: it took place between the 10th and 11th centuries at the foot of the fortified rocky outcrop. The early mention of the Castello and the later formation of the town center therefore represent two different historical points in time.

Porta Urbana di Via Castello dates to the period when the medieval town center took shape, usually dated from the 12th to the 15th century. Its barrel vault originally covered a 12-meter stretch of road; it was later extended by a further 2 meters on the south side. The Porta measures 2.30 meters across. These figures distinguish the length of the covered stretch, its later extension and the width of the gate.

Palazzo Baronale, also known as Palazzo Campobasso, likewise brings together several dates. Cesare Pagano, the first Baron of Pietrastornina, acquired the property from the Verginian monks in 1587. His son Ugone inherited the fief in 1600 and is thought to have commissioned the Palazzo in the first decade of the 17th century. The coat of arms above the entrance portal bears the engraved date 1614. The purchase of the property, the succession, the presumed construction period and the inscription on the coat of arms represent different stages in its history.

Churches and local cultural history

The first ecclesiastical foundation of Chiesa della Madonna del Carmelo, between the farmsteads of Jardino and Mavilia, dates to February 20, 1742. The new Chiesa della Madonna del Carmelo was later built, between 1856 and 1860, behind the site of the original chapel. The founding date and the construction period of the later church building are therefore clearly distinct.

Chiesa dei Sacri Cuori di Gesù e Maria was founded in 1919 and is located in the Furmo district. It is designated as a rectory of the parish of Maria Santissima Annunziata di Pietrastornina. Its regular rectangular floor plan, single-nave interior and pitched, tiled roof are specific architectural features.

Two bronze statues stand at the top of the stele of Il Monumento ai Caduti nella Grande Guerra: they depict victory and a soldier. Donato Massa, born in Pietrastornina in 1677 to Biagio Massa, is part of the town’s ceramics history. The municipality also provides a virtual museum resource with a photographic catalog, version 1.0. It contains works by artists who took part in various editions of the Concorso Nazionale di Ceramica Donato Massa and can be downloaded and viewed on a computer.

Discover more destinations: Monteverde, Mercogliano, Domicella, Beatrice, Misciano, Villaggio Laceno, Santo Stefano del Sole, Baiano

For the broader travel overview: Avellino.