L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano S itting high in the C a l o r e V a l l e y i n I r p i n i a , M o n - temarano is a hill t o w n i n t h e province of Avellino, sur- rounded by vineyards, chest- nut woods, and small munici- palities that still feel tightly connected to the land. Avelli- no is the nearest provincial capital, about 15.5 miles away, while Naples, often the reference point for visitors a r r i v i n g f r o m o u t s i d e t h e region, is roughly 48 miles by road. M o n t e m a r a n o ' s n a m e hints at how old the village is: local sources note that the toponym could derive from the Latin Marius with the suffix -nus, a form indicating b e l o n g i n g , p o i n t i n g t o a n a n c i e n t p e r s o n a l n a m e embedded in the landscape. Whether or not that origin is the definitive one, it certainly tells us something true about the village: Montemarano reads like a place whose iden- tity formed over time through families, land, and inherited ties. When you look for history here, it tends to appear in fragments; the same sources that frame Montemarano as a town of wine and tarantella also trace its story back to the e r a o f t h e w a r s b e t w e e n Romans and Samnites and speak of a temple dedicat- ed to Jupiter on the hill where today the Church of S a n t a M a r i a A s s u n t a stands. In the historic center, t h e k e y s i g h t s a r e c l o s e e n o u g h t o r e a c h o n f o o t , which is part of the village's appeal; the medieval castle dominates the highest point of the town, and while much of what you see today reflects later rebuilding, the site still reads as the village's old core. After a restoration completed in 2015, the castle has been used for exhibitions, includ- ing MuVIM, an eco-museum project focused on wine, an apt choice in a place where Aglianico and the wider Taurasi area affect both the economy and local pride. Just below, the Church of Santa Maria Assunta and its history are central for understanding how Mon- temarano once functioned as a diocesan seat. Local histori- ans note that the church was mentioned in a papal bull and t h a t t h e t o w n ' s m e d i e v a l crypt preserves the relics of Saint John, the patron saint celebrated each August. For visitors who like small but well-organized and inter- esting museums, two collec- tions stand out: an Ethno- m u s i c o l o g y M u s e u m dedicated to the town's musi- cal tradition, and a Museum of Sacred Vestments hold- ing Italian textiles from the sixteenth to the twentieth c e n t u r i e s , h o u s e d i n t h e Church of the Purgatory. Montemarano also has a couple of curiosities that con- nect it to a wider Italian cul- tural map: Giambattista Basile, the seventeenth-cen- tury writer associated with Lo Cunto de li Cunti, often cited as foundational for the Euro- p e a n f a i r y - t a l e t r a d i t i o n , served as governor here for the Caracciolo family, and local sources tie his time in Montemarano to the comple- t i o n o f h i s m a s t e r p i e c e . Another story, part legend and part pride, links the town to Giotto's fresco cycle in the Upper Basilica of Assisi: one fresco depicts the "Confession of the revived woman," said to represent a miracle involving a woman from Montemarano. T h i s t i m e o f t h e y e a r , though, the village takes cen- ter stage for a different rea- s o n , i t s C a r n i v a l . T h e C a r n e v a l e d i M o n - t e m a r a n o i s w i d e l y described as a community- wide tradition built around t h e T a r a n t e l l a M o n - temaranese, a driving local rhythm that sets the pace of the entire celebration. Recent program descriptions empha- size masked parades, taran- tella workshops in the streets, a n d a t o w n c e n t e r t h a t becomes an open-air stage, ending with the ritual of the Carnevale Morto, a sym- bolic funeral procession and a "testament" reading that clos- es the festivities with irony and collective catharsis. When it comes to food, in Montemarano you find what you would expect from inland C a m p a n i a , w i t h a s t r o n g Irpinian emphasis on pasta, pork, and serious wine. Local g u i d e s p o i n t t o m a c - caronara, handmade pasta traditionally served with a p o r k r a g ù a l l a m o n - temaranese, alongside the broader presence of Taurasi DOCG (from Aglianico) as a flagship product of the area. W h e n y o u a d d i n n e a r b y s t r e n g t h s – c h e e s e s l i k e caciocavallo and the chest- nut culture of the Avellino hinterland – you get the pic- ture of a village where strong, traditional flavors remain key on the table. I n Turin, chocolate is n o t t r e a t e d l i k e a n i n d u l g e n c e b u t a s civic language, some- thing the city learned to "speak fluently" over cen- turies, from the rise of gian- d u j a t o t h e r i t u a l o f t h e b i c e r i n i n h i s t o r i c c a f é s . CioccolaTò taps into that very tradition and gives it a fun, modern twist. The event always func - tioned as a way for Turin to present chocolate as craft, culture, and public life at once, which is why it works best when approached not as a simple food fair but more as a celebration of something the city considers part of its identity. It first launched in 2003, at a moment when the city was actively redefin- ing its public image in the years leading up to the 2006 Winter Olympics. The aim was to move fully away from its reputation as an exclu- sively industrial capital and i n v e s t i n s t e a d i n c u l t u r e , heritage, and urban events that could speak to both resi- dents and visitors. Chocolate was an obvious choice: Turin a l r e a d y h a d c e n t u r i e s o f chocolate-making behind it, but CioccolaTò gave that tradition a contemporary, o u t w a r d - f a c i n g f o r m a t . From the start, the festival was designed not just to sell products, but to tell a story about the city's relationship with chocolate as a shared cultural asset. F o r 2 0 2 6 , t h e f e s t i v a l returns for five days, run- ning from February 13 to February 17, a stretch that p l a c e s i t n e a t l y b e t w e e n V a l e n t i n e ' s D a y a n d Carnevale, when winter still affects the rhythm of the city and walking a long piazza w i t h s o m e t h i n g w a r m i n y o u r h a n d f e e l s e n t i r e l y appropriate. Piazza Vitto- r i o V e n e t o o n c e a g a i n serves as the central hub, with the program extending i n t o m u s e u m s , c u l t u r a l venues, and historic build- ings, a very interesting detail that shows how CioccolaTò is always developed to blend within the beauty itself of the city. The official program is built around tastings, work- shops, guided experiences, a n d m a s t e r c l a s s e s , s o m e offered free by reservation and others ticketed, with a clear emphasis on accessibil- ity and participation. Recent editions have reinforced a m o r e " d i f f u s e d " f o r m a t across the city, less a single enclosed marketplace and more an invitation to move t h r o u g h T u r i n a n d encounter chocolate in dif- ferent spaces and contexts. The city of Turin has a long tradition in chocolate making, which it celebrates with CioccolaTò every year (Photo: Rosshelen/Dreamstime) CioccolaTò: how Turin turned chocolate into culture Montemarano: a different spot for a special Carnevale Participants to the famous Carnevale in Montemarano (Photo: Shutterstock) LIFE PEOPLE REVIEWS PLACES TRADITIONS

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