Montella (

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and High ...

: ''Monteddra'') is an Italian 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 ...

'' (municipality) in the

province of Avellino The province of Avellino () is a province 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 ...

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 ...

, with a population of 7,699. The zone was inhabited already in the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period. The town was founded by the

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic peoples, Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan language, Oscan-speaking Osci, people, who originated as an offsh ...

in the 1st millennium BC, to become a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

and a town under the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

Culture

Montella is a production center of chestnuts, and the comune organizes the Sagra Castagna di Montella (Montella Chestnut Festival) each fall. An eco-museum dedicated to the chestnut, the Museo della Castagna Montella, opened in 2014. Part of the comune of Montella is also encompassed by

Monti Picentini Regional Park The Monti Picentini Regional Park (Italian: ''Parco regionale Monti Picentini'') is a natural preserve in Campania, southern Italy. Geography It is based on the Monti Picentini chain, a dolomitic-limestone area in the provinces of Avellino and S ...

, a mountainous natural preserve in Campania which is host to many types of mushrooms as well as cave systems. The Convent of Saint Francis at Folloni is nearby. According to tradition, it was founded by Saint

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...

in AD 1221-1222 when he was turned away from the town due to fears of

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

. The saint and his fellow travelers slept under a tree and were miraculously protected from the snow. After this event, they founded the friary and it remains there today.

Twin towns

* Norristown,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, USA

People

* Giovanni Palatucci, a

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

* Salvatore Pelosi, Italian naval officer *

Aurelio Fierro Aurelio Fierro (13 September 1923 – 11 March 2005) was an Italian actor and singer, specialising in songs in the Neapolitan dialect. Career He was born in Montella, in the Province of Avellino, Italy. His singing career began in 1951, a ...

, Italian singer *

Geno Auriemma Luigi "Geno" Auriemma (born March 23, 1954) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies women's basketball team. He holds the NCAA basketball records for wins and winning percentage with a mi ...

, American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach * Leonarda Cianciulli, serial killer The grandparents of American actress

Maria Bello Maria Bello (born April 18, 1967) is an American actress and producer. Her first major film role was in 1998's '' Permanent Midnight''. She followed this with a range of supporting and leading parts in films such as '' Payback'' (1999), '' Coyot ...

came from Montella.

References

External links

Official website
Cities and towns in Campania {{Campania-geo-stub

Culture

Twin towns

People

See also

References

External links