Campagna: historic town, nature and 'A Chiena

Campagna is sometimes called the 'invisible city': its historic centre is tucked between the southern Picentini hills and only comes into view on arrival. The Atri and Tenza streams pass the town, while the ruins of Gerione Castle rise above it. The castle is associated with the Lombard prince Gisulf II in the eleventh century.

Campagna's historic streets, churches, mountain landscape and rivers reward an unhurried visit. The town is also associated with the summer Chiena, when water from the Tenza is diverted through its streets. Programmes and dates change, so check the current calendar before making plans.

History

Human settlement in the area goes back to the Apennine Bronze Age. Campagna was a Roman municipality in the time of Sulla, suffered later invasions and developed again under the Lombards. In 1532 the Grimaldi family, Princes of Monaco, acquired the marquisate. A prosperous period followed, with new buildings, expanded convents, academies, mills, paper works, ironworks, tanneries and olive presses. Campagna became a bishop's seat in 1525, and the Caracciolo family followed the Grimaldi in the seventeenth century.

During the Second World War the Convent of San Bartolomeo was used as an internment camp for Jewish and other civilian prisoners. The history of this period is also linked to Giovanni Palatucci, who died in Dachau. The convent is an important place for understanding this chapter of the town's past.

Nature and protected areas

Campagna's territory includes the Polveracchio mountain area and the Persano Oasis, two very different protected landscapes. The hills have chestnut woods and mushrooms, while Persano protects wetlands and river habitats along the Sele.

Monuments and churches

• The Hermitage of San Michele di Montenero, with a small thirteenth-century sanctuary set into the rock.
• Archaeological areas at Saginara, Puglietta, Serradarce and Tuori.
• The Cathedral of Santa Maria della Pace, founded in 1564, with a marble pulpit.
• The Sanctuary of Santa Maria di Avigliano and its cloister with an octagonal fountain.
• The Convent of San Bartolomeo, associated with Giordano Bruno's novitiate.
• The Church of Santissimo Salvatore and Sant'Antonino, which preserves a column connected with devotion to the patron saint.