Carcere Borbonico

Located in the building that currently houses the Town Hall, the Bourbon Prison of Montefusco is one of those visits that you simply cannot miss during your ebike excursion to discover the great wines of Irpinia.

Since visits are by reservation only, we advise you to contact the municipality of Montefusco well in advance so as not to run the risk of not being able to visit this site, declared a national monument in 1928.

Thanks to its natural fortification, Montefusco has been an important political and economic centre since Norman times. After Frederick II turned this building into an Imperial Castle, it was with Ferdinand II of Bourbon that it was transformed into a Political Prison. 

Here, anti-Bourbon patriots were imprisoned, subjected to harsh treatment and various tortures, as well as having to endure the harsh environmental conditions. 

The frightening stories of the ill-treatment inflicted on the prisoners and the bad reputation of Montefusco's prisons are well summed up in a popular proverb: 'Chi trase a Montefusco e pò se n'esce pò di che nata vota nterra nasce' - which means: 'He who enters Montefusco and comes out alive, it is as if he were reborn.