Rocca San Felice is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...

'' in the

province of Avellino The Province of Avellino ( it, Provincia di Avellino) is a province in the Campania region of Southern Italy. The area is characterized by numerous small towns and villages scattered across the province; only two towns have a population over 20,0 ...

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

, southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Geography

Located in the central area of

Irpinia Irpinia (Modern Latin ''Hirpinia'') is a geographical and cultural region of Southern Italy. It was the inland territory of the ancient ''Hirpini'' tribe, and its extent matches approximately today's province of Avellino. Geography The territory ...

, the municipality borders with Frigento,

Guardia Lombardi Guardia Lombardi (), known as ''La Uàrdia'' () in the Irpinian dialect, is a small town and '' comune'' in the Province of Avellino in Campania, Italy. At an elevation of , it is located in Irpinia in the Apennine Mountains of Southern Italy. ...

Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It has been a historical spot of significance in mezzogiorno history. Information Geography Just on a hilltop near the Fredano ...

, Sturno and Villamaina. It counts no hamlets (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'') but some localities as Carmasciano, Fontana dell'Olmo, Palombaia, Santa Felicita, Serro del Bosco, Taverna Bruciata, Toriello and Valli. The town is from Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, from

Lioni Lioni is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. Located in western Irpinia, in the Monti Picentini natural park, the municipality borders with Bagnoli Irpino, Calabritto, Caposele, Morra De Sanctis, ...

, from

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

and from

Benevento Benevento (, , ; la, Beneventum) is a city and '' comune'' of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and t ...

Main sights

Among the main sights of the town there is the Castle and the old town, the Church of St. Maria Maggiore, the Chapel of Mary of Constantinople and the Sanctuary of Santa Felicita, in the homonymous locality.

Mefitis

The archaeological site of Ansanto Valley (''Valle d'Ansanto''), better known as "Mefite", is a sulphurous lake valley, few kilometres from the towns of Villamaina and Torella dei Lombardi. It was named after the ancient Italic goddess

Mefitis Mefitis was the Samnite goddess of the foul-smelling gases of the earth, worshipped in central and southern Italy since before Roman times, with her main shrine at the volcano Ampsanctus in Samnium. There was a temple dedicated to her in Cremo ...

, venerated by the people of

Hirpini The Hirpini (Latin: ') were an ancient Samnite tribe of Southern Italy. While generally regarded as having been Samnites, sometimes they are treated as a distinct and independent nation. They inhabited the southern portion of Samnium, in the mor ...

, and counts some ruins of a sanctuary of the 7th century BC. The little lake is formed by a pool of water, about deep, that boils as a result of the gas emissions of the subsoil, consisting primarily of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

and sulfuric acid. Because of this poisonous emissions, the surrounding area is free of animals and vegetation.

References

External links

Official website

Info portal of Rocca San Felice
Cities and towns in Campania Archaeological sites in Campania {{Campania-geo-stub