The best MTB trails around Montecorvino Rovella

There is no water this time

Fresh water fountain. In summer it is often closed

The pass of the Croci di Acerno marks the border between the provinces of Salerno and that of Avellino. At an altitude of 840 meters, several paths start from here within the Regional Park of the Picentini Mountains.

Former forestry barracks on Piani di Giffoni Valle Piana. Nearby there are several water sources, and from here you can reach the Grotta dello Scalandrone by following a path.

Behind the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie there is a fenced lawn area with a drinking water fountain.

The Astronomical Observatory of Montecorvino Rovella is dedicated to Gian Camillo Gloriosi, an illustrious astronomer born in Montecorvino Rovella who, on November 3, 1613, ascended the chair that had already belonged to Galileo Galilei, and the structure built in 1986 is dedicated to his work as a man of science. Since its inception, the activity of the Observatory has always followed an ideal thread that links the great figure of this scientist to study and scientific research, which the Picentino amateurs have developed and carried out. The first international event took place in 1989, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the moon landing. Guests were: the astronaut Michael Collins, of the Apollo 11 mission, the Italian astronaut Cristiano Cosmovici, the astronaut Patrick Baudry and the cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko. Since then, the Observatory has promoted other similar initiatives, taking care of a significant scientific dissemination activity. The circular M.P.C. 43093 dated 4 August 2001 of the Minor Planet Center (Massachussets - USA) assigned the International Code 229 to the Montecorvino Rovella Observatory, decreeing its entry into international astronomical research. Since 1989 the edition of the annual International Meeting has also been held in Montecorvino Rovella, inserted within the scientific event promoted and organized by the same Observatory, "Universus", an event that represented a real turning point for the recognition and dissemination of the Observatory's activity at an international level. Over the years, the observatory has obtained a series of scientific and cultural awards and recognitions from famous national and international bodies for studies on astrometry and photometry of the minor bodies of the solar system, and research on Extragalactic Supernovae. Astronomical research is currently being carried out in the various fields of vision, thanks to the presence of an astronomical dome containing the telescope and the attached instrumentation. http://www.cielomareterra.org/node/164

Behind the Sanctuary there is also a fountain from which it is possible to draw drinking water

The church, of medieval origin, corresponds to the current Madonna delle Grazie and is documented as early as the 16th century. “In the dowry of Lavinia de Ligorio di Pugliano, daughter of the Magn. Bartolomei, there is a chestnut grove located ubi dicitur the Cappella dei Lari, bordering the public road, Giovanni Sparano and Don Camillo D'Aiutolo ". During the seventeenth century it was rebuilt and enlarged by the express will of the population. The work of building the church, therefore, began in July 1655, when we talk about "the deputy elected to the building of the chapel of Santa Maria delle Grazie and I give the chaplaincy of the Lares". The elected deputies were Donato Jorio and Giovanni Maria D'Aiutolo. At the end of July 1656, with the onset and development of the plague, there began to be conspicuous donations from people who believed themselves miraculously saved from the plague "through the intercession and grace of the Madonna". After these mournful and tragic events for the population of Montecorvino, the church became a place of pilgrimage so much so that "the license was granted to all citizens of the Apulian Act to access the said Chapel in procession, pouring out prayers and prayers to Laudas Dei and of the Madonna ". In the pastoral visit of 1701, "Don Camillo Aiutolo, curate of the Parish Church of Santa Maria Assunta di Occiano asserts that the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie was founded and erected since the year 1655, and enlarged with alms from the Christian faithful, procured with the assistance of the citizens of the hamlet of Occiano, of the Administrators and Masters of the said Church, and part of those seeking it. The aforementioned Church has four windows without glazing and without soaring, and behind that Church there is the sacristy, above which the hermit's cell stands. In the aforementioned Church there has always been the hermit, who procured the food for himself and gave it to the Administrators, who spend it in aid of clothing and more for the aforementioned hermit. Currently there is for hermit or even looking for fra Michele Angelo de Nuzzo of Altamura ”. The wooden sculpture depicting the Virgin of Grace was placed in the church around the sixth decade of the 17th century. The cult of the Virgin of Grace thus replaced the ancient one, and perhaps of pagan origin, dedicated to the Madonna dei Lari. Presumably the painting that can still be seen at the head of the altar could be the one referable to the primitive cult. In this work, highly altered by heavy repainting, perhaps from the eighteenth century, there is in fact an obsolete iconographic layout compared to that of the Madonna delle Grazie. In this work, the Virgin, seated on the throne, holds the Child with the crowned head on her knees. The latter, looking at his mother with extreme sweetness, extends his left hand in the delicate gesture of caressing his beloved face. Extract from A. D'Arminio - L. Scarpiello - R. Vassallo - C. Vasso, Archpriesthood of Montecorvino. A Christian millennium, Battipaglia 2006. https://www.montecorvino.it/2021/02/25/madonna-delle-grazie-di-occiano/