Monumental Complex of the Mount (Church, Monastery, and Castle of Montella)

The monumental complex of the Monte, consisting of a church, monastery, archaeological garden and castle, rises just above Montella, a small town in the heart of the green Irpinia. Of great historical interest is the site of the 10th century Lombard castle with the adjacent settlement dating back to the 6th-7th century. Excavations conducted in the 1980s have brought to light finds from the Lombard and early medieval times, including coins and fragments of frescoes, as well as burials dating back to the same period. Today the central body (tower or donjon), the surrounding walls and the ruins of the rooms of the nobility are visible. In 1293 Charles II of Anjou confiscated the castle to make it a place for recreation. King Charles II was responsible for the construction of the cistern and the water channeling system. In the fourteenth century, at the behest of the d'Aquino, feudal lords of Montella, the twelfth-century tower was renovated and works to improve the building were carried out, with the creation of pictorial decorations. The castle was inhabited by the Cavaniglia counts in the 15th century, and during their lordship it hosted a memorable hunting expedition in 1445 in which King Alfonso the Magnanimous took part. The church has a single nave with side chapels. The wooden altars are of great value. In one of the side chapels there is an important thirteenth-century wooden altarpiece depicting the "Madonna dell'umiltà". The monastery was built between 1554 and 1586 on the pre-existing church at Monte di Pietà, by the Monte di Pietà di Montella, founded and administered by the Congrega del SS. Sacrament of Montella. It was entrusted to the Minimi Reformed Conventuals of S. Francesco replaced in 1603 by the reformed Observants. In 1613 a community of 12 fathers and several lay brothers lived in the convent. The feudal lord Antonio Grimaldi, in 1642, donated the garden adjacent to the convent, former dependence of the castle, to the Monte di Pietà. It has undergone several changes over the centuries: the structure has a square plan and the typical cloister with cross vaults frescoed in the seventeenth century by Michele Ricciardi. Completely recovered and made usable, the upper floors could be used for spiritual retreats, while it is still possible to visit the cells. The lower rooms, where the life of the friars took place, can be visited in full by taking advantage of the routes prepared also by means of illustrative panels present in each area. The convent garden is located in the open space adjacent to the castle; it has been recovered and the same crops from the Middle Ages that gave sustenance to the monks have been planted there. The entire monumental complex of the Monte, restored and open to visitors, is the property of the Santissimo Sacramento di Montella Archconfraternity

It can be visited by reservation only.