The patron saint of Calvello is Saint Nicholas, celebrated on 6 December. The first documented record of the settlement dates from 1089, when Norman, 11th count of Marsico, donated to Rado, abbot of Santo Stefano in Marsico Nuovo, the churches of Santa Caterina «iuxta fluvium» and San Nicola, the latter near the castle: from that moment on, the community's growth and the very layout of the town were shaped, besides by the terrain, by the location of the two poles, the lay-feudal one uphill and the religious one downhill.
The castle of Calvello, of Norman foundation, was enlarged in the Swabian and Angevin eras and became in the 16th century the palace of the Carafa della Marra, succeeded in the 19th century by the Ruffo di Calabria: over the course of its history it was repeatedly damaged by earthquakes, particularly those of 1273, 1826 and 1857, and has recently undergone consolidation and restoration work. In the 19th century the town was the scene of the Carbonari uprisings of 1820-21, led by the local doctor Carlo Mazziotta.
