Grand Tour of Campania & the 5 Senses 2026-27

Zungoli, the village of the caves, is the most striking village in Campania from a naturalistic point of view because it is precisely here that you can immerse yourself completely in the beauty of the Irpinia countryside. It is also known as the village of the caves because you can go down into one of the cavities where the famous caciocavallo podolico cheese is produced. A delicacy not to be missed. On the border between Irpinia and Apulia, perched on a hill overlooking the Ufita Valley, stands the charming little town of Zungoli. Various Roman finds have been unearthed in the area, given its proximity to the Via Traiana that linked Benevento with Brindisi. The town’s origins, however, are said to be tied to Norman rule, when the castle was built around the year 1000. The village was devastated by the earthquake of 1456 and then rebuilt in the late fifteenth-century style. In the seventeenth century the governor of Zungoli was the writer and man of letters Giambattista Basile, author of “Lo cunto de li cunti” and the inventor of the modern fairy tale. The Convent of San Francesco also houses the wonderful painting of Saint Francis in Ecstasy, attributed to Titian. Since ancient times the life of the village has been bound up with farming and shepherding: the area is famous for its production of fine meats and cheeses, such as caciocavallo podolico, matured in the tufa caves at the foot of the promontory on which the town stands. For the great cultural and historical heritage preserved among its steep, irregular streets, Zungoli has been awarded the orange flag of the Touring Club Italiano and is part of the circuit of the most beautiful villages in Italy.

Ariano Irpino, the Norman Castle, where the history of Southern Italy was made.

The Norman Castle of Ariano Irpino stands in a strategic and easily defended position, thanks to the natural barriers, the steep slopes and the cliffs that surround it. Its ancient origins are attested by a document dating from 892 and kept in the Abbey of Cava de’ Tirreni. The castle was at the centre of several sieges and battles that demonstrated its impregnability, due not only to the geography of the site but also to the network of underground passages that extended beyond the walls. In 1139 Roger II, unable to take the fortress, laid waste to all the surrounding lands, although in 1140 he then entered the city as its conqueror. Owned by illustrious families including the Sforza, the Gonzaga and the Carafa, the castle underwent major rebuilding during the 16th century, only to be abandoned as early as the first half of the 17th century. Of the original trapezoidal construction, four large corner towers are visible today, built of squared tufa blocks, linked to one another by corridors cut into the thickness of the bastions and still fitted with their curtain walls. In 1992, archaeological excavations within the area enclosed by the defensive circuit brought to light the so-called Torre Grande, square in plan, which was reached by a drawbridge. The castle is now surrounded by the greenery of the old municipal gardens, which enjoy a striking panorama. The town, which probably owes its name to the late-medieval Latin term ayrale, “an uncultivated, uninhabited place”, stands on three hills dividing the Miscano Valley from the Ufita Valley. It has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as shown by the finds kept in the Archaeological Museum of Palazzo Anzani, while the remains of the city of Aequum Tuticum date from later periods. During the Middle Ages, Ariano hosted powerful men and important historical events, such as the Assizes called by Roger II, with which the dux Apuliae et Siciliae consecrated the birth of the future Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The rich past of Ariano Irpino is also recounted in the town’s other museums: the Civic and Ceramics Museum, devoted to the local craft tradition, and the Museum of Silverware, guardian of the cathedral’s treasures. The cathedral itself dates from the 11th century and owes its present appearance to the rebuilding carried out by Bishop Tipaldi in 1732. The building holds precious relics and works of art, including the Holy Thorns given to the town by Charles I of Anjou. Numerous noble palaces enrich the historic centre; the surrounding countryside is also rich, thanks to its extensive farmland, planted above all with olive trees.

Nusco, the village that is the “balcony of Irpinia”, lies in the province of Avellino and is so called for the beautiful views from the castle ramparts and its characteristic lanes. Of great value and historical importance is the Cathedral of Sant’Amato, the patron saint of Nusco. The Baroque Church of San Giuseppe is also majestic. Nusco stands on a hill at an altitude of about 910 metres between the Calore and Ofanto valleys. The original village grew up in the Lombard era and is first mentioned in a document of 1093. Over the centuries, William, the last Duke of Apulia, and King Manfred found refuge within its walls. It was a fief of the De Aquino, Giamvilla, De Aczia and Caracciolo families, before finally being bought by the Imperiale family, who held it from 1676 to 1806. The Lombard-era fortress was unfortunately abandoned for good in the first half of the 15th century and stripped in every part for the reuse of its materials in new buildings. Today only the ruins of a few stretches of curtain wall survive.

The only place in the world where Socialism, despite the presence of a monarch, had the chance to become a concrete reality. In 1789 King Ferdinand IV decided to withdraw from court. He resolved to retire to a quiet little village behind the Royal Palace of Caserta, where the little church of San Leucio stands, hence the name.

At first he had simply set up a small hunting lodge and had brought a few settlers with him. These, with their families, grew and formed a genuine community. The king, fascinated by the anarcho-communist ideals then circulating in abundance, decided to found a model colony. He gave it a degree of economic autonomy, creating a silk works and a textile factory. He governed it with a code written in his own hand, full of extraordinary liberal insights. He wanted to give it an organic, symmetrical urban layout. As it was his own creation, he named it Ferdinandopoli. The enterprise, around which the whole urban structure revolved, was not run for profit but was meant to guarantee the livelihood of those who belonged to it. A State industry, but at the service of the community. Something that anticipated and realised the communist dream. The pillars of the Constitution of San Leucio-Ferdinandopoli were three: education was regarded as the source of public tranquillity; good faith was the first of the social virtues; and merit the only distinction between individuals. Luxury was forbidden. The inhabitants were to be guided by absolute equality, without distinction of condition or rank, and all to dress in the same way. School was compulsory from the age of six: children were then set to learn a trade according to their aptitudes and wishes.

Here is an extract from the Statute:

“The law that I impose upon you is that of perfect equality …. (newlywed couples) shall be granted one of the new houses that have been built, with everything needed for the comforts of life, and the two trades with which they may earn their daily keep”.

Vaccination against smallpox was also compulsory. Young people could marry by free choice, without having to ask their parents’ permission. Wives were not required to bring a dowry: the State provided everything, undertaking to supply a furnished house and whatever the couple might need. In short, something that, for those years, was nothing less than revolutionary. Other absolute novelties and historic firsts: wills were abolished: children inherited from their parents, parents from their children, then first-degree collateral relatives, and that was all. Widows received the usufruct. If there were no heirs, everything went to the Orphans’ Fund. In matters of succession, men and women had equal rights. Funerals were held without class distinctions and were brief. Ferdinand also abolished mourning, which he found sinister: at most a black armband. Heads of families elected the elders, the magistrates (who held office for one year) and the civil judges. Every manufacturer, that is, every employee of the silk works, was required to pay part of his earnings into the Charity Fund, set up for the disabled, the elderly and the sick. Government was entrusted to five Elders of the people, elected each year on the feast of San Leucio from among the elders. Their duties were many: to settle disputes, to oversee prices and quality, the organisation of the Community, work, property and housing, hygiene and health, etc. The Community bore the cost of doctors, medicines, linen and everything essential to the upkeep of every single individual. This was because one of the cardinal principles of the Statute read: “on the health of all depends the salvation of each”.

Those who were unable to work because of disability were supported by the Community until they recovered. The Fund was financed by monthly contributions that each manufacturer paid in proportion to his daily earnings. Another welfare institution was the Orphans’ Fund, which provided for the upkeep and education of orphans until they came of age. Through the use of autonomous cells within the factory, it anticipated what was to become one of the main aims of communist, and especially Gramscian, activity: self-managed work. Communism has often been dismissed as mere utopia, on the capitalist pretext that a society of this kind could not possibly survive. Yet consider that San Leucio managed to survive perfectly well, and collapsed only in the face of the Barbarian Invasions. The final word, however, came in 1861, following the Savoy invasion, when the Kingdom was annexed to Piedmont: the silk works were handed over to private owners, and the statute became waste paper.