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 Contact Information
Domus Laeta
Address - via Flavio Gioia, , Giungano
Telephone - +39 0828.880177
Website - Click Here
General Information
Domus Laeta (“The Happy House”) is an historic residence built in 1600. It still belongs to the d’Aulisio family, “Lord of the Manor of Giungano”, the town founded by the inhabitants of Paestum.
Facing south, Domus Laeta has an enchanting view right down to the sea. This ancient architectural structure still has original stables and mangers, oil-mill, cellars and bread ovens, as well as watch-towers and embrasures along the walls,
The ancient water reservoir, located in the garden by the well–spring, has been turned into a swimming pool with hydromassage.
The halls, library, antique furniture and panoramic garden overlooking the Valley of the Temples, make it a small jewel in the National Park of Cilento (under the Superintendance of UNESCO).
One Suite, five Double Bedrooms, two Family Rooms (four beds per room), and an Apartment with kitchen facilities are available.
There is a Dining room, TV room, ample outdoor spaces, open Gallery with frescoes, panoramic Terrace, Garden with orchard, Swimming Pool, and a small Gym.
Special attention is given to breakfast. Special lunches, traditional menus, banquets and parties as well as private meetings are provided on request.
Domus Laeta has a touch of antiquity evident in every part of it. The building, one of the most ancient in the village, is next to the main square and the Church.
It is three floors high and sits atop a terraced garden with an orchard and vineyard overlooking the valley; a typical Italian country mansion, well equipped to run autonomously.
From the outside it appears like a small citadel fortified as past centuries necessitated. The loop-holes built along all sides and the lookout turret at the top show how the inhabitants in the past protected themselves from their enemies.
Inside, before entering into the heart of the house is a series of small courts and courtyards where the servants attended to their various jobs, such as: looking after horses and donkeys (the mangers can still be seen, and the big iron rings where they were tied up), making wine and oil with the grapes and olives harvested on the nearby land owned by the family.
A large stone oil-mill is kept in a separate hall, ready to the restored, together with an old cistern, the tank for the olive-harvesting, and a wash-basin.
Still working are the the huge wood-burning ovens for cooking bread and figs which abounded on the estate.
A series of well preserved kitchen utensils is still kept. The great halls have remained unaltered, and an ancient chest of drawers placed in the main hall is mentioned in a document of the 1700s.
There is a room attached to the spring-water well which was used for water storage.
The bridge was built in order to facilitate the drawing of water; in fact during the last century the landlord allowed the people of Giungano to draw water from his well at a fixed time, as it was considered the best in the village.
The bedrooms have always been located where they are now, and the bathrooms generally outside on the verandas.
The Archdeacon Ignazio, whose portrait is above the fire-place, slept in the last room, which led onto the veranda where he loved to walk up and down praying, when free from his numerous duties.
Surroundings
The typical Mediterranean vegetation in the surrounding countryside makes this area a particularly protected and uncontaminated spot.
Everybody who loves nature will admire, among other things, the fresh beauty of the holm-oak wood, thirty hectares of Mediterranean bush planted mainly with “strawberry trees” (a plant almost extinct) or the grassy banks of the Tremonti river, a tributary of the Solofrone river, the source of which originates from Mount Sottano and flows through the land of Trentinara, Giungano and Capaccio. Foxes, badges, pheasants and wild boars are the predominant fauna.
The steep path from Giungano up to the village of Trentinara has recently been renovated, making it an easy walk of about two hours, with a difference in height of 400 mt. thus enabling visitors to enjoy the view from the most panoramic “terrace” of Cilento.
On the other side there is a beautiful waterfall (about 50 metres high) from the top of mount Cantenna. On reaching the valley, the water follows a meandering course through the gorges which are surrounded by a luxuriant vegetation.
Near the waterfall is the famous “Tempio degli Innamorati” (Lovers’ Temple) next to an old bridge called “Il Ponte del Diavolo” (The Devil’s Bridge). Lower down among other paths, is a series of grottoes, the most famous being the “San Michele Grotto”. The name “Tremonti” was given to this spot due to the vicinity of Mounts Cantenna, Sottano and Soprano. This impressive gorge was the scene of the last episode of the “Guerra Servile” (Servile War) in 71 B.C., between the rebel slaves led by Spartacus , and Liciinio Crasso.
In 1941 six Roman tombs were discovered here together with ceramics from the iron age.
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