Venticano, Province of Avellino, Campania

The historical origin of the toponym "Venticano" can be traced back to remote times. It is said that a hamlet of unknown name was destroyed by the Romans during the Samnite wars. Only 20 or so elders survived these war events, from which the town was named ("venti canuti"). Or also the toponym would refer to twenty successes reported by the Romans, or from a righteous archaic government of twenty old sages.

In the Middle Ages the name first appeared in the 9th century. The old fiefdom was destroyed in 1528 and the owners were at first the Caracciolo family and after them the Monte della Misericordia of Naples.

In 1799 it was destroyed by the French, led by General Championnet: only the church and its bell tower remained, and for this reason the place took the name of "Campanarello". In 1948 the villages of Campanarello, Castello del Lago and Calore separated from Pietradefusi giving rise to the municipality of Venticano.

Venticano is renowned for the production of wines and nougats, exported all over the world, as well as for the processing and seasoning of ham. The Venticano ham reflects one of the main rural traditions of the Irpine countryside, pig breeding and pork products, facilitated by the easy availability of salt.

As a matter of fact, Venticano is at the center of the so-called "Via del Sale", which along the Appian Road connected Naples with the Apulian town of Margherita di Savoia, home to famous salt pans. Since the 1800s many Venticano families have specialized in the salting and seasoning of hams and salami, passing on their artisan skills from generation to generation.