Wine is the product of labour and patience but also the gift of a most generous land. In just one sip it tells the story of the sensitivity that people have acquired over thousands of years of intense relationship with their roots.

Talking about wine in the terrain of San Cipriano Picentino, seeped in history and traditions,means tapping into a tale that stretches over thousands of years. The Cerrella Winery is located in the village of Filetta in San Cipriano Picentino, an enchanting place of rolling hillside and ancient buildings and unspoiled nature. It is a place with a history of ancient peoples, traditions and poetry. Indeed, the poet Jacopo Sannazaro who lived here for 20 years praised the area in his poemswhen he said “There, among the mountains lies a beautiful valley and stretching to the heavens above it, Mount Cerretta”.

The Real Estate Registry for the villages of Filetta and Pezzano in 1754 (Municipal Historical Archive) describes the area that Cerrella wine comes from. The ancient hamlet of Pezzano on the slope of Mount Monna has remained almost unaltered with its public laundry and little chapel dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi. On the edge of this historical village lies the 4 th century church of Saint John the Baptist where on the traditional feast of 4 th June the statue of the saint is adorned with bunches of green grapes to augur a good wine harvest. This ancient rite has endured over thousands of years. Passing along by the Fontana Vecchia (Old Fountain), you reach Filetta where the Cerrella Winery is located among the vineyards, greenery and scents of the Salerno hills and sea. This little village, with its rural architecture and fascinating remnants of ancient farm houses, clusters around the church of Saints Andrew and Margaret. This very old church is described as already existing in the 11 th century, then rebuilt during the 16 th century and in 1736 it was visited by a mission led by the nobleman Alfonso Maria de Liguori. As well as a public laundry, the church has other distinguishing features, including a plaque from 1914 stating that the water supply came from a public aqueduct. Important people have loved this area for being the place where they grew up and were nurtured before lending their genius to posterity: between 1473 and 1474 the young poet Jacopo Sannazaro, together with his brother Marco Antonio and their young mother Masella, visited their grandfather Baldassarre Santomango’s large estate that formed the Barony of the Lands of San Cipriano, Filetta and Pezzano. For the poet it was a “journey to Arcadia” and the images of that visit remained in his memory until his death. In the summer of 1873, fleeing from a disastrous earthquake, the Italian philosopher and historian Benedetto Croce, nephew of Donna Mariannina, arrived at the estate of Francesco Petroni. It was in that house that echoed with monarchic memories combined with liberal passions that the young historian composed verses inspired by conversations overheard in the Piazza, in front of the Immacolata chapel and along the road. The house was also frequented by Silvio Spaventa who kept a personal billiard table there for which linen covers had to be hand made. A road there is named after him. San Cipriano owes its origins to the destruction by the Romans of the Etruscan village of Picentia around 88 BC. This led its inhabitants to flee into the surrounding areas. During the middle ages, the various settlements that emerged became administrative districts before becoming Counties and Baronies under the Norman dominion. The village was named after Saint Cecilio Cipriano, a Carthaginian martyr. He was venerated in the area due to the continuous trade relations between the local population and North Africa. The territory around the Picentini hills is scattered with churches, convents, basilicas and votive chapels. These buildings testify to the long-standing faith and dedication of the local people. Although most of these buildings have been renovated, they still maintain some of their original features, such as marble holy water fonts, altarpieces and frescoes that are carefully preserved by local residents. The San Cipriano Castle perches on top of one of the peaks providing a strategic observation point for the entrance to the Picentino valley. It was a Roman settlement from the 3 rd century BC and between the 11 th and 12 th centuries a surrounding wall was built with a north facing gateway.