There are places in Italy that not only have an ancient history, but a charm unique because you find there immersed in the mountains and green woods. They are places to be discovered and known. And above all to protect. And this is what the association of the villages of Italy does, which for years has been dealing with turning on the spotlight among the treasures we have in our peninsula. And among these villages there is one in the province of Foggia. Today we bring you to know Pietramontecorvino. A place of the Puglia which preserves its medieval charm intact, a village reborn from its ashes like the Phoenix. Because? We tell you about it.
The origins of Pietramontecorvino
Between hills and plains in Puglia lies the municipality of Pietramontecorvino, which in addition to having the flag of villages most beautiful in Italy, it also has the orange one of the Italian Touring Club. There are traces of this place since the times of the Byzantines and the Lombards. Its darkest period was under the reign of Roger II: it was he who destroyed the village. But like every ancient place, there are many legends in this too. One of this tells how some refugees took refuge in some caves in the area, Pietra, thus succeeding in rebuilding the city.
But Montecorvino in the full 1400s was sacked and burned by the Aragonese. Then destroyed with the earthquake of 1456, the city was soon abandoned. Only in the following years was it reborn from its ashes. In fact, only the ruins of a Norman tower remain of Montecorvino. In 1862 the locality was given the name of Pietramontecorvino. And the historic center, the Terravecchia, is also reborn.
Monuments and historical sites in the village
If you reach this place in the beautiful Puglia you can admire the mother church, the ducal palace, the landscape of the Daunia. The charm of this village is however the ancient area of Terravecchia which winds through alleys and squares with a ring-shaped urban layout. Once there were fortified walls. Today only the Norman tower and the gothic arch of Port'Alta remain. The peculiarity lies in the fact that the houses are placed on the rock, partly dug into the tuff.
Excursions between nature and taste
There are many itineraries that can be done in this area, among the woods and hills. For trekking lovers, in fact, you can take an excursion to discover of the church of the Rosario and then to the Bosco di Sant'Onofrio, to the ruin of the Norman tower. There are also many tourist initiatives such as parties. That of Sant'Antonio Abate, in January, of Sant'Alberto, in May which preserves a tradition linked to the procession of the saint's statue. And again in September, events between art and gastronomy to discover local dishes and products. Among the specialties to taste are the rechetèlle or cecatille, typical pasta with meat sauce, the scartellate covered with honey or cooked must, the cauzune stuffed with chickpea paste and chocolate. And then the oil and wine produced in this area.
Source of the photograph: Michele Colucci - Own work CC BY-SA 4.0
