At age 9, Silvio Falato, now a retired professor of classics from Guardia Sanframondi, wrote an essay on his village that sounds like a love letter. The intro says: “There, it clings to the ruins of an ancient castle almost as a look-out on the great valley. It is like an eagle that dominates the whole plain below.”

No doubt, Guardia Sanframondi is Campania’s hidden gem in the Benevento province. It offers magnificent views of the entire Telesina Valley, its soft emerald hills undulating with vineyards, olive groves, and orchards.