Zungoli
Zungoli (AV)
Hidden gemVillages
The story
Among the most beautiful borghi (old villages) in Italy, Zungoli clings to a hill of tufo (volcanic tuff) hollowed by ancient caves, where caciocavallo podolico cheese still ripens in the cool.
Access
FREE
The story
Zungoli stands on a tuff hill of eastern Irpinia, the medieval old centre dominated by a castle of Norman origin. The name itself refers, by tradition, to a Norman commander who exploited the strategic position to build the Castrum Curoli. The territory is crossed by the royal drovers' road Pescasseroli-Candela, an ancient transhumance route, and already in the Roman age it was touched by the Via Herculia. It is part of the Most Beautiful Villages of Italy and boasts the Orange Flag of the Touring Club.
What to see
The village is a weave of cobbled lanes and stone stairways that climb the tuff ridge, beneath the Norman castle. The surprise lies in the subsoil: the Byzantine Grottoes, a complex of hypogea dug into the tuff beneath most of the dwellings of the old centre, dated to the Byzantine era (ninth–tenth century) and perhaps even older.
How to get there
- Car needed
Public transport. Il trasporto pubblico in quest'area interna è limitato: i collegamenti in autobus sono radi e non sempre giornalieri. In pratica il luogo è difficilmente raggiungibile senza un mezzo proprio; per eventuali autolinee e per la stazione ferroviaria utile più vicina, verifica su Unico Campania e sui canali ufficiali degli operatori regionali (AIR Campania). · fonte: Fallback onesto — area interna, routing transit non disponibile
Hours and prices
Free entry.
Tips
Wear comfortable shoes: here you go up and down continuously among cobblestones and steps. The charm of Zungoli is precisely walking without haste in the old centre and discovering the underground world of the grottoes in the tuff. Check in advance the visiting arrangements for the hypogea. It is comfortably reached by car.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Byzantine Grottoes of Zungoli?
A complex of hypogea dug into the tuff beneath most of the houses of the old centre, dated to the Byzantine era (ninth–tenth century) and perhaps to even more remote periods.
Is Zungoli a Most Beautiful Village of Italy?
Yes, it is part of the circuit of the Most Beautiful Villages of Italy and has obtained the Orange Flag of the Italian Touring Club.
What dominates the old centre of Zungoli?
A castle of Norman origin, around which the medieval tuff village with its stone stairways develops.
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