Sant’Agata de’ Goti

The village of Sant'Agata de' Goti is located at the foot of Monte Taburno, in Campania. The town is divided in two parts: a modern, built since the end of the XIX century and the other of Roman foundation, located on a tuff spur.

His name is formed in various historical periods. In the VIII century Lombard city was entitled to the holy catanese probably for willingness to Radoaldo and Grimoaldo, brothers educated to court Arechi who lived in gastaldia of Sant'Agata. The second part comes from the Norman period instead, with the advent of the feudal lords of the family Drengot after 1117: As is known, Rainulfo Drengot conte di Sant'Agata belonged to the circle of "Potentes" with special faculties and independent power of decision among them to give its name to the fortress. But with time the surname Drengot both in France and in Italy took to be pronounced differently up to mutate into De-Goth.

In the present territory of Sant'Agata de' Goti formerly stood the city sannita of Saticula. In the period in which the Lombards dominated the city the urban fabric citizen of roman origin began to be altered up to disappear altogether, thanks also to the practice of the barbarians to "recycle" materially pieces of structures that belonged to the pagan temples or basilicas considered useless. In this period you laid the foundations of a slow transformation of costumes in the population, eating habits and of peasant habits, some of which still survive today.

In the surrounding territory were created Le Masserie, fortified places where there developed the production of food at the service of the Community, done by Massari gathered in families that gave its name to the farm, exactly as it is still the case today in some cases. The steward of Sant'Agata dwelt instead protected on the hill of tuff, near the ancient Roman Pretorium totally demolished, in a building next to a flap of the underground water, which drew a well. In the Norman period Sant'Agata began to take an appearance similar to the current one. The fortellicium was made starting from the XI century: the Normans exploited the tufa caves already present in the village, using them then as "preserved" and cisterns, some of which can be visited today, and with such a stone built the buttresses attributed to natural costoni: this system, joined to a boundary-houses cortina, yields the impregnable walls to the west, while in the east was enriched by a network of the turrets of sighting. The side of the river Martorano remained always the most impregnable, to which we arrived only in boat, fording the river.

The santagatese territory is traditionally devoted to the production of oil, wine, fruit (apples and cherries in a special way), vegetables, cereals and legumes. Among the specialties of fruit cultivates the annurca apple product, which in 2006 has obtained the mark IGP (Protected Geographical Indication). The fruit is small and crushed, is characterized by its organoleptic properties: white pulp compact, acidulous and perfumed. It was already known and appreciated in Roman antiquity, and cited by Gaius Plinius according known as Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia it locates the origin in the area of Pozzuoli; the annurca apple is cultivated in the whole Campania Region. Of great quality wines, white and red, produced in Sant'Agata de' Goti, among which are renowned especially falanghina, which has received the title of DOC labelled Sant'Agata dei Goti Falanghina and Aglianico, label DOC Sant'Agata dei Goti Aglianico reserve.

BY CAR

• From the north via Rome: Take the A1 highway and exit at Caianello; Continue for Benevento and take the exit for San Salvatore Telesino the Isclero valley, then exit Sant'Agata De 'Goti.
• From the north via Pescara: Take the A14 highway and exit at Termoli; continue for Boiano-Benevento and take the SS 7 for Montesarchio, then Airola and finally Sant'Agata De 'Goti.

ON THE TRAIN

• Naples railway station

BY PLANE

• Airport of Naples-Capodichino

• June - Corpus Domini flower festival. Every year in the month of June the squares in the historical center of host compositions and altars in honor of the procession in which can participate even visitors.

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• August - Feast in honor of St Alphonsus Maria de Liguori.

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• September - European Heritage Days. White Night of Culture. night tour to the monuments of the city, excursions, concerts, gastronomy in the second halfà September.

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• September. Sounds of the earth. Peoples rhythms and dances. Festival of Music and of other cultures. multicultural Festival that takes place every year between the last week of August and the beginning of September.

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• December/January - Christmas at Sant'Agata de' Goti. Local crafts market along the enchanting streets of the village, concerts and religious functions.