Il castello longobardo di Montoro
The Castle is located at an altitude of over 320 m above sea level and dominates Borgo di Montoro. You can easily see it when driving on the motorway SA-AV, toward Avellino. As the crow flies (for strategic reasons), it is aligned to the Castle of Mercato San Severino. The latter is located on a hill and runs fot 10 hectares ranging from 365 meters of the "Palatium" to 250 m. above sea level of "Aragonese tower". While the fortification in Mercato San Severino is located in the walls perimeter and can be reached through pedestrian and dirt tracks, the Castle of Montoro (while still accessible from a road that ends at the nearby shrine of St. Pantaleone) is not as enjoyable (and accessible) in its fortified enclosure. The Sanctuary and the adjacent Castle are both accessible from Borgo through a pedestrian walkway, which has been adapted to organize an evocative Via Crucis. The historical system of fortress in this area gets worse if we consider there’s only one bastion left from the Castle of Solofra which protected Montepergola Pass and was in contact with the Castle of Montoro and Ferrari (well-kept and easily accessible) through a system of signals. In Solofra there is a run-down tower of the ancient castle you can see from the motorway. The Castle of San Severino was in close contact with the Castle of Nocera, along a defensive line where it’s retraced the railroad line Tirreno-Adriatico via Cancello, crossing Irpina and Lucania. The Castle of Montoro is accessed by the same line because there is tunnel which pass through the hill where the Castle is located. This could be an attractive location, with the integration of the several roads systems. The defensive system was composed by 200 castles, located all along the area between Molfetta and Caserta. Emperor Federico II of Svevia was supposed to protect his kingdom (Naples and Sicily) from invasions, but he failed. Travellers who drive along the Motorway SA-AV from Fisciano to Montoro, will notice the preservation status of these castles.