Alfano is a village and small comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

in the province of Salerno

Province of Salerno

The Province of Salerno is a province in the Campania region of Italy.-Geography:The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 139,579; Cava de' Tirreni with a population of 53,488; Battipaglia with a population of 51,115; and Nocera Inferiore which has a...

 in the Campania

Campania

Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...

 region of south-western Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. As of March 1, 2009 the comune had a population of 1128.

History

There is little reliable evidence on the ancient history of Alfano. However, according to tradition a large city existed on the slopes of Mount Centaurino, near the present frazione of Roccagloriosa, but this would have been destroyed in a catastrophic earthquake.

In 1496 the town was given to the Neapolitan noble Giovanni Carafa, Duke of Paliano

Giovanni Carafa, Duke of Paliano

Giovanni Carafa , Duke of Paliano, was a papal nephew and minor Italian prince.The son of Giovanni Alfonso Carafa, Count of Montorio, and Caterina Cantelma, Giovanni came to prominence along with his brothers Carlo and Antonio when their uncle, Cardinal Giovanni Pietro Carafa, was elected Pope Paul...

.

Main sights

The main church in Alfano is the Church of Saint Nicholas. The Baronal Novelli Palace dates back to the 18th century. It has a grand entrance of stone, leading to a hall, and for some time served as the Town Hall of Alfano.

Palazzo dei Baroni Speranza, another palace, belonged to the Baron Speranza di Laurito. The palace, a large complex building complex elevated above the town, contains a central courtyard.

Economy

The comune is a renowned producer of wine. Although the soils are amongst the poorest in of the country, given the harshness of the territory and the dryness of soils, local grape varieties were introduced to Elea

Velia

Velia is the Italian name of the ancient town of Elea located on the territory of the comune of Ascea, Salerno, Campania, Italy in a geographical sub-area named Cilento...

 and Paestum

Paestum

Paestum is the classical Roman name of a major Graeco-Roman city in the Campania region of Italy. It is located in the north of Cilento, near the coast about 85 km SE of Naples in the province of Salerno, and belongs to the commune of Capaccio, officially also named...

by ancient Greek colonists and adapted to grow in clay-calcareous soils and climate of the area.

The Cilento brand of wine was established on May 3, 1989 and is produced in three varieties. Paying homage the Ancient Greek colonists in Paestum and the viniculture experienced there, on November 22, 1995, the brand of wine Paestum went into production.