Sassano

The coat of arms of Sassano is a description of the place: five mountains in their natural colour beneath a six-pointed silver star, because the town does indeed sit on five hills, at the eastern edge of the Vallo di Diano. The natural place it is best known for is the Valley of the Orchids, and in the church of the Madonna del Loreto there hangs a painting of the Virgin of Loreto with saint Anthony of Padua and saint Lucy: it was signed in 1762 by Nicola Peccheneda, who came from Polla, a few kilometres further up the same valley.

Since 1902 Sassano has made the Amaro Penna, whose recipe was worked out with local herbs in the village pharmacy and has not stopped since: a liqueur born behind an apothecary's counter and turned into a trade. The municipality also keeps a museum of its old crops, which tells the story of the work done on this land. Under the Bourbons it belonged to the circondario of Diano and under united Italy to the mandamento of Teggiano; its railway station, Sassano-Teggiano, stands on the line from Sicignano degli Alburni to Lagonegro, whose service has been suspended since 1986. In 2014 a stage of the Giro d'Italia set off from here, finishing at Montecassino.