San Pietro Avellana

Province: Isernia · Region: Molise · Population: 537 · Postal code: 86088

A village of 537 people has an astronomical observatory and a planetarium that projects twenty thousand stars: it stands in the Montagna district, where the sky is still properly dark. The rest of the year the digging here is for truffles — San Pietro Avellana is one of Italy's official truffle towns, and in November the prized white truffle market fills the streets.

The name comes from the Benedictine abbey of San Pietro, now a ruin: it once held the Chronicon Vulturnense, the register of the churches of the Sangro valley. Avellana probably comes from the hazel trees, the avellane, which duly appear on the coat of arms beside St Peter's keys.

🎉 Festivals and feasts in San Pietro Avellana 1

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Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.