Campoli del Monte Taburno: a stone village on a rocky spur

Clinging to a rocky outcrop on the slopes of Monte Taburno, the little village of Campoli del Monte Taburno looks out over the Vitulanese valley in the province of Benevento. With around 1,650 inhabitants, this Campanian borgo wears its medieval past in every lane of pale limestone.

The old centre

The historic core climbs around the spur known as the Riella, its narrow paved streets winding up to the little square called the Ariella, an old threshing yard turned village meeting place. Stone portals, wrought-iron balconies and sudden views over the valley reward a wander, while the 17th-century church of San Nicola da Mira, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1688, holds statues of saints. The settlement, known in the Middle Ages as Campora and recorded from 1181, passed through the hands of noble families such as the Della Leonessa, Carafa and d'Avalos.

Wine, beans and mountains

Campoli lies within the regional park of Taburno-Camposauro, a land of woods and vineyards that produces Sannio wines and fine olive oil; the village belongs to the association of Italian wine towns and holds a popular bean festival and a cherry feast each year. Marked trails climb from the borgo into the beech forests of the massif.

Where it lies

Campoli del Monte Taburno is about eleven kilometres from Benevento, an easy drive from Caserta and Naples.