Nestled in the valley that gives its name, Lauro is a picturesque town in the province of Avellino. A Roman settlement, that thanks to its strategic position, since the Middle Ages was an important Marquisate stronghold and often subject of contention.
Domain of the Principality of Benevento, before being ceded to the ones of Salerno and Capua, Lauro was first conquered by the Normans in 1057, commanded by Riccardo I Dregngot, Count of Aversa, and later, in 1212, the town became a possession of Frederick II of Swabia. In 1541 it was sold to Scipione Pignatelli before being acquired in 1632 by the Marquis Lancellotti, whose Family ruled until the abolition of feudalism (1806). In 1799 the entire village came out almost undamaged from a fire set by the French troops to punish the position taken by the local inhabitants against the Neapolitan Republic.
Among the most representative monuments, not to miss:
- the Lancellotti Castle, of Lombard-Norman origins, rebuilt in 1872 by Prince Filippo Massimo Lancellotti, and is the result of a mixture of styles (Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical). The building, which stands in between an elegant XIX century garden with a central circular fountain, includes a private chapel and several apartments. In front of the entrance a short bridge connects the courtyard to the main house;
- Palazzo Pignatelli, which today houses a museum dedicated to Umberto Nobile, an Italian Air Force General and Engineer, born here, who in 1926 and in 1928 was at head of two extraordinary aviation expeditions in airship of his own creation., to the North Pole. The museum displays interesting relics and documents donated by the Nobile family and by the Italian Air Force;
On the ground floor, lies the Museum of Naive Art, which displays the works of the most prestigious Italian and foreign artists, such as: La Marioli, Guastalli, Ludmilla, Prato, etc...
- the Palace of the Chaplain (or Tufi);
- the Church of Santa Maria della Pietà, whose existence is already attested in the XII century and has submitted several alterations over the centuries, particularly after the fire set by the French troops in 1799. Inside it preserves a remarkable cycle of frescoes, reproducing scenes from the life of Jesus;
- the Collegiate Church of Santa Maria Maddalena, currently used as an auditorium and conference hall, rebuilt in the XVI century;
- Via Terra, a picturesque street that crosses the village between the medieval fortress and the city walls, which was built at the times of the domain of the Sanseverino Family;
- La Porta di Fellino (XVII century), the main gateway to the historical center of Lauro;
- the Roman Baths built in the I century B.C.