Monticchio is an Italian hamlet (''

frazione 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 ...

'') belonging to the municipalities of Rionero in Vulture and

Atella Atella was an ancient Oscan city of Campania, located 20km directly north of Naples. Remains The ruins of the city walls, private houses, the so-called ''garden of Virgil'' and many tombs remain, on sites in the ''comuni'' of Frattaminore, Or ...

, in the Province of Potenza, Basilicata. The village is divided into three zones: Monticchio Laghi (part of Atella), Monticchio Bagni and Monticchio Sgarroni (both in Rionero).

History

First inhabited by the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

, who occupied the ancient castle near Sgarroni (''Castrum Monticuli''), it became, in the second half of the 19th century, a strategic point for brigands after Italian unification. It was the shelter for brigands such as

Carmine Crocco Carmine Crocco, known as Donatello or sometimes Donatelli (Rionero in Vulture, 5 June 1830 – Portoferraio, 18 June 1905), was an Italian brigand. Initially a soldier for the Bourbons, he later fought in the service of Giuseppe Garibaldi. ...

and his subordinates '' Ninco Nanco'' (Giuseppe Summa), Giuseppe Caruso, Teodoro Gioseffi and Giovanni Fortunato. Nowadays it is a touristic place admired for its natural environment and for mineral waters, due to the presence of some

extinct volcanoes A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ar ...

Geography

Monticchio is part of the Vulture region and lies near the borders with the Province of Avellino,

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

. The three tiny villages composing it are located to the west of Mount Vulture and few kilometres away from each other. A regional road links Monticchio Bagni and Monticchio Laghi. *Monticchio BagniInfos about Monticchio on Rionero website
(''M. Baths'', ) is the northernmost locality, situated few kilometres from the borders with Campania and from the closed

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

on the Avellino-Lioni-Rocchetta line. With a population of about 250, it is the most populated locality. *Monticchio Laghi (''M. Lakes'', ) lies on the slopes of Mount Vulture and counts about 150 inhabitants. In front of it there are situated two little volcanic lakes and the locality is receptive for tourism. From 1971 the smaller of the two lakes, habitat of the European owl moth, constitutes a

natural reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

, named Riserva regionale Lago piccolo di Monticchio. Around the village are situated two abbeys: St. Michael and the ruins of St. Hippolytus. *Monticchio Sgarroni (), with a population of about 50, is the least populated one. Also known as Sgarroni, close to it are located the ruins of a castle. Monticchio is 13 kilometres from

Melfi Melfi ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,768. Geography On ...

, 16 kilometres from Rionero in Vulture, 22 from

, 68 from Potenza, 71 from Foggia and 123 from Avellino.

Economy

The economy of Monticchio is mainly based on tourism and agriculture. Local industry is based on the export of the

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. Mineral water may usually be still or sparkling (carbonated/effervescent) according to the presence or absence of added gases. T ...

s, owned by the Italian companies Gaudianello (based in Melfi) and Fonti del VultureTERRITORIO")">Infos on Fonti del Vulture website (section "TERRITORIO")
(based in Rionero). This second company has a local factory that produces the waters ''Toka'', ''Solaria'' and ''Felicia''.

Gallery

File:Monticchio Laghi.jpg, The lakes of Monticchio File:Monticchio4.jpg, View of Monticchio Laghi File:Abbazia monticchio.JPG, The abbey of St. Michael File:Abbazia di Sant'Ippolito.jpg, Ruins of the abbey of St. Hippolytus

References

External links

Monticchio website

Monticchio on the website of Rionero

Natural Reserve of Monticchio
{{authority control Frazioni of the Province of Potenza