Medieval Wooden Architecture

V I S I O N & M I S S I O N

The Medieval Wooden Architecture project was launched in March 2024, for historical-archaeological research and museum projects on medieval wooden architecture.

The project was created to support six villages within the Cilento, Vallo di Diano, and Monti Alburni National Park - a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998, in the province of Salerno, southern Italy - suffering from chronic depopulation, but with an extraordinary cultural resource, yet largely ignored, which is their Longobard history, art, and architecture, with one of the villages - Corleto Monforte - also neglecting it was the seat of a Longobard county. By March 2025, the villages interested in joining the project were twenty-four, with some of them located outside the National Park borders.

The MWA project has the ambition to create research and museum projects capable of generating academic-based economy, and more effective strategies for urban and territorial regeneration plans, systemically integrated with local genius loci and medieval museums.

I N T E R N A T I O N A L R E F E R E N C E S

The MWA project is committed to be aligned with the principles and aims of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the United Nations Global Compact.

M U S E U M P R O J E C T S

Krunatun The museum project aims to create a medieval museum in the town of Corleto Monforte (Salerno, Italy), with full-scale reconstructions, celebrating the history and architecture of the Longobard county that had seat in this town, for five centuries, from about 575 to 1077, as part of the powerful ducky/principality of Benevento (570-850), and the principality of Salerno (850-1077). The project started with historical and non-invasive archaeological research from April to November 2024 (Krunatun 1/2024) funded by MWA with a contribution from the Corleto Monforte town, and will continue with archaeological inspectons from March to October 2026 (Krunatun 2/2026), to define the preliminary project within December 2026.

Helfara The museum project aims to create a medieval museum in the town of Sant'Angelo a Fasanella (Salerno, Italy), with full-scale reconstructions, celebrating the history and architecture of the Longobard fortified settlement of the abandoned village of Fasanella, and the later village of Sant'Angelo a Fasanella (the actual town) developed around the Longobard castle and the lost Benedictine fortified abbey of San Michele Arcangelo. The project started with historical and non-invasive archaeological research from March to October 2025 (Helfara 1/2025) funded by MWA, and will continue with archaeological inspections from March to October 2026 (Helfara 2/2026), to define the preliminary project within December 2026.

R E S E A R C H

Thomas Allocca (2024), Krunatun. Corleto Monforte in the Longobard Early Middle Ages, English and Italian text, published by Medieval Wooden Architecture project, Marigliano, Italy

T H E 26 T O W N S T H A T J O I N E D T H E M W A P R O J E C T

Altavilla Silentina Salerno mayor Francesco Cembalo 55 sqKm 7050 inh DGC 113 2024 09 10 9

Aquara Salerno mayor Antonio Marino 35 sqKm 1300 inh DGC - 2025 24

Bellosguardo Salerno mayor Giuseppe Parente 17 sqKm 650 inh DGC - 2024 5

Campora Salerno mayor Giovanni Feola 30 sqKm 300 inh DGC 40 2024 12 30 20

Castelcivita Salerno mayor Antonio Forziati 60 sqKm 1400 inh DGC - 2025 25

Castel San Lorenzo Salerno mayor Giuseppe Scorza 15 sqKm 2200 inh DGC 38 2024 05 17 6

Controne Salerno mayor Ettore Poti 10 sqKm 750 inh DGC - 2025 26

Conza della Campania Aellino mayor Raffaele Cantarella 50 sqKm 1300 inh DGC 75 2024 11 14 13

Corleto Monforte Salerno mayor Filippo Ferraro 60 sqKm 500 inh DGC 125 2023 12 11 2

Felitto Salerno mayor Carmine Casella 40 sqKm 1150 inh DGC 82 2024 12 20 19

Laurino Salerno mayor Gregorio Romano 70 sqKm 1250 inh DGC 86 2024 12 13 18

Magliano Vetere Salerno mayor Adriano Piano 25 sqKm 550 inh DGC 59 2024 09 12 10

Ottati Salerno mayor Elio Guadagno 55 sqKm 600 inh DGC 95 2024 08 26 7

Piaggine Salerno mayor Renato Pizzolante 65 sqKm 1100 inh DGC 74 2024 09 16 11

Postiglione Salerno mayor Carmine Cennamo 50 sqKm 2000 inh DGC - 2025 23

Rive Vercelli mayor Andrea Manachino 10 sqKm 450 inh DGC 81 2024 12 12 17

Roccagloriosa Salerno mayor Roberto Cavalieri 40 sqKm 1550 inh DGC 16 2025 02 14 22

Rofrano Salerno mayor Nicola Cammarano 65 sqKm 1250 inh DGC 22 2025 02 11 21

Roscigno Salerno mayor Pino Palmieri 15 sqKm 600 inh DGC 144 2023 12 07 1

Sacco Salerno mayor Franco Latempa 25 sqKm 450 inh DGC 7 2024 01 11 3

San Rufo Salerno mayor Michele Marmo 30 sqKm 1600 inh DGC 83 2024 11 29 16

Sant'Angelo a Fasanella Salerno mayor Gaspare Salamone > Bruno Tierno 35 sqKm 500 inh DGC 4 2024 01 11 4

Serre Salerno mayor Antonio Opramolla 65 sqKm 3700 inh DGC 124 2024 11 15 15

Sicignano degli Alburni Salerno mayor Giacomo Orco 80 sqKm 3050 inh DGC 119 2024 11 14 12

Valle dell'Angelo Salerno mayor Salvatore Angelo Iannuzzi 35 sqKm 250 inh DGC 34 2024 08 28 8

top page photo by Wiglaf