Altomonte

Altomonte (CS), recognized among the "Most Beautiful Villages in Italy", is on a scenic promontory at about 455 meters above sea level, with an area partially flat, made extremely fertile by Esaro, Grondi and Fiumicello rivers. Climate and location combine to make the area ideal for growing wheat, vegetables, citrus and fruit trees, especially native vines, which produce the typical wines Balbini, praised by Pliny the Elder. The ancient name of the town was Brahall, later evolved into Bragalla, Antifluvius and, since 1343, Altomonte, at the behest of Queen Giovanna II of Naples. The feud of Altomonte was first owned by the powerful Sangineto family, then go to the Sanseverino’s House. The village has evidence of a long history: between the buildings of the old town dating back to the Angevin period we can remember the Church of St. Mary of Consolation, built in the late fourteenth century and restored in the seventeenth century (inside is placed the tomb the feudal lord Philip Sangineto), and the adjacent convent, where Tommaso Campanella took refuge before being arrested. Noteworthy is the Counts’s Castle.