Letino

The mountain village of Letino is within the Matese Regional Park, at a height of 1,050 metres above sea level.
Still today, this historic settlement retains its ancient layout, with evocative, narrow alleys that occasionally open onto panoramic views overlooking the valley below. The Church of Saint John the Baptist and the Castle, built on neolithic ruins, are of historic and architectural interest, and likewise the “Santuario della Madonna del Castello”, a building set into the settlement’s walls built during the 17th century.
As early as the Neolithic epoch, Letino was a centre of civilisation as a result of its green valleys, beech forests, springs and surface water features, which include the river Lete, known as the “river of oblivion,” fed by many springs, and Lake Letino, a hydroelectric basin famous for its natural beauty and its stalactite and stalagmite formations. An emissary of this lake forms waterfalls in the steep, craggy Valle delle Ravi valley.
Traditional Letino dress can still be seen in local culture: women wear hand-embroidered white blouses and long, dark skirts, over which there is a colourful decorated apron; their hair is in a plait or covered with a scarf. Men wear black trousers, a white shirt and an embroidered jacket. These costumes are used for special occasions and local festivities, and still today they highlight the people’s cultural identity and their links with Letino’s historical roots.