Atella.
Atella is situated in Vitalba Valley, whose name comes
from a mediaeval farmhouse that does no longer exist.
The surrounding area, overlooked by thick woods,
and rich in springs, is characterised by luxurious
vegetation and lands, where cereals are grown above
all.
Founded between 1320 and 1330 by Giovanni d’Anjou
in order to populate an area almost abandoned, it
became a relevant centre between the XIV and the XV
centuries. It was a place of important events and
its farming products were sold in the whole region.
In the mediaeval centre there still are some remains
of the walls and the characteristic ‘Porta S.
Michele’.
Amongst the several monuments that form the cultural
heritage of this village there are the Cathedral of
S. Maria ad Nives, the Angevin Tower of a castle destroyed
by the earthquake of 1694, S. Lucia’s Church,
the Convent, the Benedictine Church and the Paleolithic
Park.
