What is Letino known for?

Anarchist insurrection of April 1877, when Malatesta, Cafiero and the Matese Band declared King Victor Emanuel II deposed in the village hall. Karst river that rises at 1,028 meters in Campo delle Secine and disappears underground into the Grotte del Caùto cave system. Touring Club Italiano Orange Flag awarded in 2014, only the fifth commune in Campania to receive the quality-of-hospitality mark.

Letino is a comune in the province of Caserta, Campania region of Italy, about 108 kilometers from Napoli.

Campania · Caserta

Letino

At 961 meters the highest commune in the province of Caserta, where in April 1877 anarchists declared a Republic of Letino in the village hall.

961m

Elevation

108 km / 67 mi

Nearest hub (Napoli)

631

Population

May–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Letino sits at 961 meters in the Matese, the highest commune in the province of Caserta, with its castle on a rock at roughly 1,200 meters and the artificial Lago di Letino just below. In April 1877 the Matese Band, anarchists led by Errico Malatesta and Carlo Cafiero with the Russian Stepniak and roughly thirty others, marched into the village during a council session, declared King Victor Emanuel II deposed, proclaimed the Republic of Letino, burned tax records in the square, distributed arms to peasants and ordered the lands divided. The insurrection lasted days. The municipal museum keeps the local archive of the events. The Castle of Letino, hosting the Madonna del Castello sanctuary within seventeenth-century walls, stands above the town. The Lete river is born from a karst phenomenon at 1,028 meters in the locality of Campo delle Secine and disappears into the Grotte del Caùto, a cave system known since the 1920s. The Touring Club Italiano awarded the Orange Flag in 2014, only the fifth Campanian commune to receive it.

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Gallery

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Known for

Castello di Letino
Castle on a rock above the village at roughly 1,200 meters, walls dating to the 1600s, hosting the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Castello.
Lago di Letino
Artificial lake (also called Lago Caùto) of 1.1 km², built in the early 1900s for the Prata Sannita hydroelectric plant.
Grotte del Caùto
Karst cave system carved by the Lete river, explored since the 1920s, with two parallel galleries averaging 89 meters apart.
Fiume Lete
Karst-fed river that rises at Campo delle Secine (1,028 meters), runs above ground briefly, then descends into the Grotte del Caùto.
Museo dell'Internazionalismo Anarchico
Permanent exhibition in the municipal building on the 1877 Matese Band insurrection, with local documents and press of the era.

When to visit

Best months · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through October is the open season at 961 meters in the Matese: warm days, cold nights, and the trails to the Castle, the Lago and the Grotte del Caùto walkable. June and September are the best months for the cave system, which runs cold year-round. July and August stay tolerable up here while Caserta city bakes; the lake fills with day-trippers from the lowland. April and November are shoulder months with shifting weather. December through March is winter in the Matese, with snow on most weeks; many small B&Bs close, but the higher slopes attract weekend skiers from Campobasso and Naples and the village stays open for them.