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Enjoy your holidays in wonderful South Italy: Cilento National Park.

Casaletto Spartano e Battaglia

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Scheda realizzata grazie al contributo di:
Mimmo Benivento

The legend tells that the village, developed around the contrada of Spartoso, was abandoned because of an ants invasion.


Casaletto Spartano and Battaglia have been hamlets of Tortorella. In 1562 they were sold to baron G. Antonio Gallotti who has kept the two hamlets unified until 1800.
From 1800 to 1810 Casaletto and Battaglia divided into two district but, during Cilento revolts, they were reunified: after Italian Unification the word “Spartano” ( it comes from “sparto”, a plant that grows naturally in the municipality) was added to the place name.
Casaletto Spartano has got lots of tourist attractions: wonderful landscapes, culture-historical sites and gastronomy traditions.

 

 

CULTURE-HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS
The Medieval town centre, in cobblestone, is rich in portals and palaces such as Menta Palace; the principal church is dedicated to Saint Nicholas (12th century), it has three nave-aisles decorated with refined stuccoes portraying scenes of the Saint’s life.
The shrine of Madonna dei Martiri (Our Lady of Martyrs) is 3 km far from the village centre; it keeps the ancient stone figure of a Madonna del Cammino (Virgin Hodegetria) of the 14th century. The chapel of Saint John and the Norman bridge, that connected Casaletto and Tortorella (in depth), are also interesting places.
In frazione Battaglia, the Gallotti Palace overlooks the Rio Casaletto valley. It was built up at the end of the 1400’s ; its corner turrets are still intact.
In Battaglia, surrounded by luxuriant vegetation, only 300 people live.
Here you can visit the town centre, S. Maria della Stella (Saint Mary of the Star), a one-nave-aisle church with arches in piperno of the 1500’s; very interesting are also Saint Antony’s church and the ruins of the monastery of Saint Francis and the chapel of Madonna delle Grazie (Our Lady of Graces). The monastery fountain has been recently renovated and decorated with ceramic painted by a local artist: it seems the water of this spring has diuretic effect.

 

 

NATURALISTIC ATTRACTIONS
The municipality is crossed by the Rio Casaletto: 22 km long, it is an affluent of the Bussento and an important canyoning destination. Various streams flow together in località Capello where they form an amazing waterfall: CASCATA DEI CAPELLI DI VENERE – VENUS’S HAIR WATERFALL (in depth). Capello Natural Area, along the riverbanks where otters and shrimps live, offers a picnic area, various naturalistic itineraries ( such as delle “Rocche” trail up to the Madonna dei Martiri Shrine, Capello-Cerreta and Capello-Ponte Sottano trails) and caves. In the past along the Rio Casaletto there were a series of watermills. A hydroelectric power plant was built on the remains of an old ironwork.

 

 


WINE AND FOOD
Two are the most important typical foods of Casaletto, i.e. goat meat and casalettano ham.
About the ham, almost every family produces it using a method deep-rooted in traditions. Furthermore every family raises its own pigs, usually the Large White breed, feeding it with kitchen scraps and acorns. So the ham is natural and really excellent: salt and chilli pepper are the only curative agents used, according to the traditional way; the curing is usually 1 year long.
During weddings casalettano ham, caciocavallo and local wine are offered to the guests.
Also casalettano cheese is a traditional food: the curing is made inside the shepherds’ house while cacioricotta cheese is cured in wood farmhouse.
Here in Casaletto bread is still baked in wood ovens: it often happens that two or more families use a common oven.
You can buy traditional food products only from local farmers.