Mercogliano

Mercogliano sits at 550 meters on the western flank of the Partenio massif, five kilometers from Avellino. The town is the base of the Montevergine funicular, a 1956 cable line that climbs the mountain to the sanctuary at 1,270 meters where the Madonna of Montevergine is venerated, the Black Madonna also known as Mamma Schiavona. The sanctuary draws over a million pilgrims a year, including a famous Candelora procession on February 2 led by Neapolitan femminielli, who claim the Madonna as their protector since the thirteenth century.

Below the funicular, the old Loreto abbey complex was the administrative center of the Montevergine monks. The town itself is residential, much rebuilt after the 1980 Irpinia earthquake. The chestnut woods that surround it produce the Avella hazelnut and several DOP chestnut varieties. Most visitors are pilgrims or hikers heading up the mountain rather than staying in town.