Chiusano di San Domenico

The municipality of Chiusano di San Domenico lies on the slopes of Monte Tuoro, in the middle Calore valley, at an altitude of 700 metres, and has around 2,200 inhabitants. The name derives from the Latin personal name Clasius, with the addition of the suffix -anus; 'San Domenico' was added later and refers not to the town's patron saint but to the saint to whom the church at the top of the Ripa is dedicated.

The Hermitage of Santa Maria della Valle, also known as the Hermitage of St William, may have been founded between 1128, when William left Montevergine, and 1133, the year Goleto was founded. Today the hermitage consists of two buildings of different periods and styles. The older one is square in plan and topped by a dome; the more recent one is open to the sky and laid out like a single-nave church, with four round arches on each side. This part, dating from the late 16th century, was built as a cemetery for the brothers and sisters of the Confraternity of the Buona Morte. The complex was restored by the Soprintendenza of Salerno and Avellino after the damage caused by the 1980 earthquake. On the end wall of the small church, a fresco of the Madonna and Child from the first half of the 16th century reminds passers-by that "to those who turn to her with pure and sincere faith, she is generous with graces and favours".

Worth visiting are the Hermitage of St William (the end point of Stage 2 of the Cammino), described above; Palazzo De Francesco, home to the multimedia museum devoted to the 'Cammino di Guglielmo'; the ruins of the Church of San Domenico and of the Castle; and the Borgo La Ripa, with a series of fine murals, some of them very large, dedicated to William.

From the centre of Chiusano there is a wide view over the Sabato valley opposite, with the Partenio massif as a backdrop and the Abbey of Montevergine set into it, clearly visible to the naked eye. Climbing into the mountains towards La Pila (1,050 m above sea level), an area crossed by the Cammino, you can enjoy sweeping views of the Picentini range.