It is certainly curious the transformation into dwellings of some of the sixteen towers that surround the old manor that looms in an almost spectral way over the medieval village of Vairano Patenora, a center with ancient origins located in the province of Caserta, in Campania. If you are passionate about abandoned villages, we suggest what to see in Vairano Patenora.
Vairano Patenora: abandoned village
The village “Terra”, perched along the slopes of the “Piesco” and enclosed within a hexagonal walled and towered enclosure, has only three access gates, the Porta Castello, the Porta di Mezzo, and the Porta Olive.
On one side it overlooks the fertile and flat valley crossed by the winding curves of the Volturno river, on another side it faces the mountain of Caievola, and on another side the Montauro mountain, or the Pizzo di Guardia, an important observation point from where it is possible to control the Casilina and Venafrana routes.
Obviously, the lord of the town, by building his castle in such a strategically defensive position, considered the conquest of his territories by enemies and invaders quite desirable; in fact, the Terra di Lavoro area owes its wealth to the fertility of the land and grazing, two activities made possible by the large presence of water. Vairano Patenora, thanks to the riches offered by nature, saw a steady increase in population over time. Various settlements thus arose outside its walls, subject to the authority of the same lord.
The hamlets of Vairano Patenora
The Greci hamlets, Piazza and Santa Maria a Fratta were groups of farmhouses, mostly consisting of a large yard with a well and a small garden, and represented the productive unit of the village: the yard was used for threshing cereals, while the first floor of the house was inhabited, whereas the ground floor was normally used as a stable.
The livestock breeding was so thriving that in 1660 the remarkable number of 2200 heads of cattle was reached; the processing of flax and hemp and the production of wheat and barley supplemented the local economy. The large number of animals present in the village caused quite a few hygiene problems, and it is easy to imagine what could happen during their transfer from the village to the grazing areas in the morning hours and then in the evening when returning from the fields. The issue was resolved only in 1954, when the then mayor Guido di Muccio ordered the gradual decentralization of all activities related to livestock farming.
Vairano Patenora: the fairs
Near the Cistercian abbey of Ferrara (of which only ruins remain today) two important annual fairs were held, one on Ascension Day and the other on Assumption Day (May 15 and August 15); the majority of trade concerned livestock, but food products were also sold, including the famous Venafro celery and the “pezza di Vairano“, a delicious sheep cheese produced during the spring season. Over time, the fairs grew larger until they became true markets and were moved to the current Market Square, in the center of Vairano Patenora.
Today, near the abbey ruins, the modern structure of one of the control centers of the impressive aqueduct – the second largest in the world after the one in Mexico City – stands out prominently, contributing to the water supply of the Naples area.
