Corleto Monforte
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Corleto Monforte (
Campanian The Campanian is the fifth of six ages of the Late Cretaceous epoch on the geologic timescale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). In chronostratigraphy, it is the fifth of six stages in the Upper Cretaceous Series. Campa ...
: ) is a town and ''
comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' with 615 residents in the
province of Salerno The province of Salerno () is a province in the Campania region of Italy. It has 1,054,766 inhabitants as of 2025. Geography The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Bat ...
in the
Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
region of south-western
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.


History

Corleto Monforte gets its name from the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word ''coryletum'', meaning "a thicket of hazeltrees" (''
Corylus avellana ''Corylus avellana'', the common hazel, is a species of flowering plant in the birch tree, birch family Betulaceae. The shrubs usually grow tall. The nut is round, in contrast to the longer Corylus maxima, filbert nut. Common hazel is native to E ...
''). "Monforte", from the Latin words ''mons fortis'' meaning "strong mountain", refers to the location's history as a fortification for feudal lords. Francesco Torre, in his book ''Cenni storici di Corleto Monforte'' ("A Brief History of Corleto Monforte"), published in 1893, recounts some of the theories on the origin of the town's name:
The first title given to Corleto, as is found in historical documents, was 'Cornito,' which became 'Corneto' over time by one of those simple changes which occur in the other names of towns and cities. There are various opinions regarding the origin of this name. Some believe that Cornito, or Corneto, derives from ''cor nitidum,'' atin, meaning ''splendid heart'' others from the fact that the estate was abundant in horned animals
rom Italian ''cornuto'', meaning ''horned'' Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * R ...
and, finally, others maintain that the town was called Cornito on account of the ''cornus arbor,'' as there were forests of dogwood (
Cornus mas ''Cornus mas'', commonly known as cornel (also the Cornelian cherry, European cornel or Cornelian cherry dogwood), is a species of shrub or small tree in the dogwood family Cornaceae native to Western Europe, Southern Europe, and Southwestern Asi ...
) in the area. From these three versions, the third seems to us to be more plausible, because the ancient Lucani, as related by
Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...
, the Antonines, and other ancient historians, were accustomed to give towns their name based on the nature of the site where they settled; and Corleto in those times was abundant, as it is still now, in dogwood. The reason for which Corneto was changed to Corleto with the turn of the centuries, we do not know. Thanks only to the aid of philology and tradition are we able to posit that the Corletani, on account of a joyful heart, named their town ''cor laetum'' atin, ''joyful heart'' and this too explains the fact that Corleto uses a heart on its crest.
From 1811 to 1860 it was part of the
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
of
Sant'Angelo a Fasanella Sant'Angelo a Fasanella is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. Geography The town is located in the north-east of Cilento, close to the mountain range of the Alburni. Its municipal terri ...
, which belonged to the District of Campania during the
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies () was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1861 under the control of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbons. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by popula ...
. From 1860 to 1927, during the
Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...
, Corleto Monforte was a part of the mandamento of Sant'Angelo a Fasanella, still nominally within the District of Campania. To ensure that Corleto was distinct from other towns of the same name, the Corletani appended the phrase "at Fasanella", indicating "opposite old Fasanella", to the town's name. Following the ministerial agreement of June 30, 1862, the Town Council of Corleto replaced "at Fasanella" with the word "Monforte", effective after deliberation on November 18 of the same year.


Geography

Corleto is situated in the north-west of
Cilento Cilento () is an Italian mountain range (part of the Lucan Apennines), which gives its name to a geographical region of Campania in the central and southern part of the province of Salerno. Is an important tourist area of southern Italy. ...
, in the vicinity of Cilento National Park in Valdiano at the foot of the Alburni Mountains. It is located off a country road that connects it to Postiglione and continues to the Castelcivita Caves, to the south of Strada Statale 166. The old town, which constitutes almost all of the village, stands next to a ravine overlooking the Fasanella river valley. The only hamlet is Carnale, which consists of a scattered group of houses and farmsteads and is situated along a
trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...
.


Main sights

*The Old Town has been renovated and equipped with tourism routes and signs. The final portion is at the tip of the ravine, and consists of a square balcony that overlooks the valley of Fasanella. The balcony, facing west, is called ''Capo d'Armi'' ("Weapons' Bluff"), as it was the first stronghold from which enemies could be repelled. On Capo d'Armi stands the Church of St. Theodore, built in 1500, as is inscribed above what remains of the main door. Tradition, ignoring the inscription, maintains that idols were once worshiped in the temple. This leads to belief that the temple existed prior to the coming of Christ. Particularly compelling is the Piazza of Diana, so-called because it was near the temple of
Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), ...
, Goddess of the Hunt. After the coming of Christ, according to the tradition, it was made into a Christian place of worship by the name St. Maria dell'Elice. This new title was given to the temple of Diana during the act of its transformation because there was an
ilex ''Ilex'' () or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen or ...
plant in front of it. The Church of St. Barbara was built in 1762 in substitution of the Church of St. Maria dell'Elice, as is apparent from the inscription on its facade. It is the largest church in the town. The church contains many excellent and antique paintings, magnificent sculptures (including a very impressive statue of St. Barbara, the
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of Corleto), and many altars (three of which are marble, including the largest). The church's belltower was erected upon the rocks that protrude from the right side of the Piazza Diana. *The Forest of Corleto is a large forested area situated on the southwestern portion of the
Alburni The Alburni are an Italian mountain range of the Province of Salerno, Campania, part of the Apennines. Due to their geomorphology, they are popularly known as the "''Dolomites of Campania''" or of Southern Italy. The highest mountain is the Pano ...
. It borders the Passo della Sentinella, with
San Rufo San Rufo is a village and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of southern Italy located in the Vallo di Diano. San Rufo extends over 31 square kilometres, much of which is mountainous or hilly terrain. With defence in min ...
at its end. It mainly consists of
beech trees Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted species i ...
and is naturally contiguous with
Pruno Pruno, also known as prison hooch or prison wine, is a term used in the United States to describe an improvised alcoholic beverage. It is variously made from apples, oranges, fruit cocktail, fruit juices, hard candy, sugar, high fructose syrup, ...
, further to the south. *The Natural Museum of the Alburni Mountains, founded in 1997, is situated in the center of the town. It is a large organization dedicated to
wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animals and uncultivated plant species which can exist in their natural habitat, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introdu ...
monitoring and
biological Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...
research.Museo Naturalistico degli Alburni, di Corleto Monforte (In Italian)
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References


External links


Official website

{{authority control Cities and towns in Campania Localities of Cilento