Ricerc@Sapienza

The Matterella fortress and the castle of Precetto are located in the municipality of Ferentillo in the Umbrian province of Terni; the fortified structures belonged to a complex defensive system that arose to protect the southern sector of the Valnerina valley near the ancient roads to Spoleto and Monteleone. The two settlements for defending and controlling the territory are positioned one before the other along the steep slopes of the valley, which at this point forms a narrow gorge in which the Nera river runs.

This examination proposes a critical interpretation of some restoration and rehabilitation works of the fortifications constituting the Terminio – Cervialto’s defence line, in the southern region of Italy called Alta Irpinia (AV): the castles of Quaglietta, Volturara, Castelvetere sul Calore and Taurasi.