Overview
The area was inhabited even before the Lombards, as confirmed by the many archaeological remains which show evidence of relations between the Oenotrians, Greeks and Etruscans as early as the 7th century. The castle resulted in the formation of a village, completed in the late 1400s by the noble Dalla Porta family, who ruled for a long time after the Sanseverino family until they were deposed in 1486 by the Conspiracy of the Barons.
Many churches were built during this period, such as the 16th-century Mother Church dedicated to St Nicholas of Bari, which houses a painting of the Annunciation and a marble sculpture of the saint dating from the same period; the Convent and Church of St Anthony and the Monastery of St Mary, founded just outside the town in 952 AD by Basilian monks (later beatified), containing many interesting artworks including a 16th-century wooden statue of the Madonna and Child.
The festival of the Madonna del Piano, held each year on 4 and 5 August, relives the history of the Sanseverino family, which in 1486 was deposed by the Conspiracy of the Barons. To avoid blackmail by the nobles, the monks hid the Madonna and Child inside a hollow oak tree large enough to accommodate it. Many years later, it was discovered by a group of villagers, who paraded the harvested grain and the statue through the village in celebration.
