Montecalvo Irpino

According to many scholars, the first part of the town's name derives from the Latin mons calvus, or "rocky mountain, without trees", according to others instead from mons galbus, or "yellow mountain" for the color of the tuff or broom flowers present in the area.[6] A third interpretation, much less likely, would derive the term "calvo" from Calvia, a Roman clan that had some possessions in the area.

The last part of the town's name, "Irpino", identifies the historical-geographical district in which it lies (Irpinia) to distinguish it from the numerous others with the same or similar names.

A stable presence of the area since Roman times is attested by the discovery of wall structures referable to a rustic villa in Tressanti (on the border with Ariano Irpino), as well as by archaeological material from a necropolis and areas reported in various other locations in the municipal area.[7]

The first historical notice of Montecalvo is contained in a document of 1096, which refers to the sending of about sixty armed men from that area in the expedition to the Holy Land at the will of William II of Sicily.[7]

The chronicle of Alessandro Telesino recalls that in 1137 King Roger II, Norman ruler at war with the Count of Avellino, camped at the foot of the castle of Montecalvo.[8]

In the Catalogus Baronum it appears that the first feudal family was that of the Potofranco. Following the destruction caused by the troops of Manfredi di Svevia, the feud was first granted to the noble Matteo Diletto (1276) and then donated by King Charles I of Anjou to Giovanni Mansella of Salerno.[9]

From the end of 1300 Montecalvo followed the events of the county Ariano Irpino, to which it remained aggregated during the governments of de Sabran, Sforza and Guevara. The violent earthquake of 1456 caused the sinking of part of the town (probably in the Fosso Palumbo) and the subsequent urban expansion outside the walls, which were never rebuilt. In 1486, the feud came directly under the government of the Royal Court and eight years later it was sold, together with the fiefs of Corsano and Pietrapiccola, by King Alfonso II of Aragon to Ettore Pignatelli, Duke of Monteleone and Viceroy of Sicily. He managed the revenues from the territory until 1501, when the town was sold to Alberico Carafa first Duke of Ariano.[9]

During the brief domination by the French, which began in the same year 1501, the lord of Montecalvo was Pietro del Rohan, marshal of France and loyal to King Ludovico. Re-established Spanish power, King Ferdinand the Catholic restored the duchy of Ariano which, with Montecalvo, returned to Alberico Carafa. In 1505 Montecalvo was donated by him to his second son, Sigismondo, who in 1525 was appointed count.[9]

For almost a century, the Carafa administered the county of Montecalvo, until, in 1594, it was purchased by Carlo Gagliardi, who in 1611 boasted the title of duke. At his death in 1624, the duchy returned to the Pignatelli family, to whom it belonged until 1806, the year of the abolition of feudal rights in southern Italy.[9]

In the Bourbon era, Montecalvo was one of the most active centers of the Carbonari in Irpinia. On the occasion of the constitutional motions of 1820-1821 from Montecalvo, in fact, many volunteers left and fought against the Austrians in the battle of Antrodoco, under the command of Guglielmo Pepe.[10]

At the time of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the municipality was the capital of the district (with jurisdiction over the municipalities of Casalbore and Sant'Arcangelo Trimonte) within the district of Ariano. Subsequently, in the post-unification era, Montecalvo was instead the capital of the district (with jurisdiction over the same two municipalities) within the district of Ariano di Puglia.

In the first decades of the twentieth century in Montecalvo Irpino, the socialist ideals were widely spread among intellectuals and laborers, fighting for better living conditions. Even during the Ventennio, in fact, anti-fascism remained active, especially by historical exponents of local socialism, such as the pharmacist Pietro Cristino and the confined politicians from other regions (such as the communist Concetto Lo Presti).[11][12][13] In 1944, the local branch of the Italian Communist Party was founded, named after Giuseppe Cristino (volunteer who fell in the Spanish Civil War fighting in the International Brigades).[11][12][13] In 1946, the alliance between socialists and communists, sanctioned by the creation of the frontist list of "La Spiga", managed to win the first post-war administrative elections, electing the socialist Pietro Cristino as mayor. On the occasion of the institutional referendum of 2 June 1946 Montecalvo Irpino was one of the 14 municipalities in the province of Avellino in which the Republic won, and among them it was the one in which the Republic obtained the highest percentage of votes (62%).[14]

Over the centuries the country has been scourged by several earthquakes. In particular, the earthquakes of 1688 and 1962 destroyed several churches, caused serious damage to the ducal palace and the church of Santa Maria Assunta, whose bell tower was also demolished in 1981.[9]

Saint Pompilio Maria Pirrotti

Saint Pompilio Maria Pirrotti (San Pompilio Maria Pirrotti) of the Pious Schools (Scuole Pie) was born in Montecalvo Irpino on September 29, 1710, died in Campi Salentina on July 15, 1766, was beatified in 1890, and canonized on March 19, 1934.[23][16]

Blessed Felice Pomes of Corsano

Blessed Felice Pomes, was born in Corsano, now a district of the Municipality of Montecalvo Irpino, around the first half of the fifteenth century and died on September 20, 1526. Four days after his death, according to the customs of the time, he was "declared" immediately Blessed.[23][16]