Campolattaro

Campolattaro is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 60 km northeast of Naples and about 15 km north of Benevento. It is part of the historic greater Sannio region which extends through the area and its descemdants are of the ancient Samnians-Campanians Many descendants of the town emigrated to the United States to areas such as Bellaire, Ohio and Waterbury, Connecticut and Philadelphia as well as eastern Pennsylvania regions in the late 19th century and early 20th. Michael Massa, son of Campolattaro-born Carmela Nardone (Massa) and a contributor to this site, is a dual American-Italian citizen and resided in Bellaire, and subsequently, in Columbus, Ohio. Michael's brother, Ray Massa, has a popular Italian-American band which travels the US extensively and completed an orchestra tour of Italy. Further descendants of the area left for areas of South America (Argentina) and Canada in early 20th century In the 15th century, the Pope visited Campolattaro; and the city has lived under occupation of various entities through the centuries, from the Normans to the Germans in WWll. The Castle within the 'commune' served as the town fortress and overlook, during times of attack through the centuries. It is now a tourist attraction and bed-n-breakfast. Serving as the namesake of a well known contribution to Italian cuisine, the popular dish "Vermicelli alla Compolattaro", originated in the municipality. It was conceived by and a favorite of the Marquis of Campolattaro in the 14th century. Recent boom in tourism exists as part of the construction of a lake preserve and agri-tourism ion the region. Main sights The Castle "Castello" (10th-11th centuries) Church of Madonna del Canale Church of San Sebastiano Lago di Campolattaro (lake) and estuary References