Maiano Village in Sant’Agnello
Starting from Sant’Agnello square, going up Via Mons. Bonaventura Gargiulo we arrive at the Rione Maiano, one of the oldest in Sant’Agnello.
Before, however, it is advisable to stay for a few minutes in the chapel of San Martino, a simple chapel that is very dear to the inhabitants of the village, where it is possible to admire a picture of the Virgin that nurses the infant Jesus, who is also an unknown author.
Still a few meters away we reach Maiano, one of the five Rions, who formed, in the sixteenth century, the Terziere di Piano. It is a district where finds dating back to the Greek and Roman times have been found: today, to bear witness to this ancient past, remains the characteristic Tower, which has become the symbol of this district over time. It is known as La Forma and is located at the outskirts of Via Armieri, a small artery nowadays almost completely forgotten but in the past important communication route of the urban center with rural fractions. In 1648, at the time of the siege of the Plants and Methesium to the city of Sorrento, the tower was the seat of the Cricket, head of the rebels. Even the old farmhouse attached to the building is now in disuse and needs accurate restoration works.
The Rione Maiano includes many characteristic alleys that overlook the old tuff houses, some restructured, many remained as before, with the large gable doors that overlook a large courtyard: these ancient houses are certainly the most beautiful from See why they are the last testimonies of an age set; If we pass in front of an open door, you can admire the wide ghettoes, the old cisterns nowadays in disuse, but from which, until the sixties, water could still be drawn, because the water supply did not reach all the homes.
Maiano survives today a very ancient activity: brickwork, built using clay, a time abundant in Sorrento areas. The bricks that are produced at Maiano serve for the construction of ovens and chimneys.
This activity, dating back to Roman times, has made Sant’Agnello famous in all parts of Italy, since the Maiano bricks, for their characteristics, are very demanding. Unfortunately, this activity is slowly setting, and only three kilns continue to bake red bricks on a weekly basis and planes to use to build ovens to cook bread and pizza.
It is an art that is jealously handed down from father to son, exploiting artisanal, ancient but always effective craftsmanship. We hope that these last clergymen do not disappear, we hope to continue doing this activity that has in the past been a flourishing industry, which has allowed many families to live decently, hopefully not to disappear another piece of the past of Santanellesi. Maiano becomes a reminder for the people of the Peninsula on the last Sunday of August, the day when the Feast of Saint Rocco is celebrated, the Saint revered in the church of the Rione Maiano, which is not far from the Tower and is small and welcoming, meeting of young people in the place. This is a very simple construction, particularly dear to the inhabitants of Maiano.