Belmonte Castello

Belmonte Castello is a small town at the gateway of the Comino Valley, featuring a quaint old town centre located on a rocky cliff wholly covered by the dense forests of Monte Cairo.

The history of the town – whose name comes from the Latin Bellus Mons to which was added, in 1862, the term Castello (Castle) – is strongly linked to the Comino Valley: considered a hamlet of the town of Atina until 1819, it was a fief of the Aquinas Counts, like other towns in the Valley, and later passed onto the Counts of Alvito, in the 13th century, who probably built the castle.

Today the only visible parts of the solid fortification are the high tower and the town walls, with the three main gates, and the place where the castle stood, which was destroyed during the Second World War, leaving only the two stone columns of the entrance standing. Dating back to the Middle Ages, to the 12th century, is also the Church of San Nicola, decorated with 14th-century frescoes, while the ruins of the Roman aqueduct, excavated in the rock, date back to the 1st century B.C.

In the areas known as Capodivalle and Vaccareccia, nature lovers can visit the "pits", two rocky craters created by karst phenomena, which are more than 130 meters deep and on whose bottom you can hear the wash of underground water flowing through.

The charming view Belmonte Castello offers on the Comino Valley is fascinating, combining the beauty of the land with the simple and quiet lifestyle that makes it the perfect spot to visit and enjoy.