The village of Villamaina (916 ab.) stands on a characteristic hill in the heart of Irpinia at 580 m asl. Its green landscape is surrounded by the varied background of the Campania Apennines. It is a spa and tourist center of ancient tradition, surrounded by the green valleys of Ansanto, praised by Virgil in famous verses (Aeneid, Book VII, vv.562 and ssg.). The gentle morphology of the territory, the mild and airy climate, the interesting naturalistic itineraries, make it the ideal destination for a regenerating stay among the green, the pleasures of good country cuisine and the relaxing and restorative treatments of the famous thermal waters.

The central Piazza Risorgimento is a beautiful window sill overlooking the Alta Irpinia. Surrounded by the ancient medieval walls, including the famous wall, it houses some valuable sculptural works by prof. Giancarlo Lepore, the church dedicated to Our Lady of Peace, the Civic Arch, birthplace of the famous botanist and naturalist Giovanni Gussone.

The Roman Samnite remains are well preserved in the Antiquarium "Paolino Macchia" which, in addition to a vast lapidarium, preserves some testimonies of the cult of the Goddess Mefite that celebrated in Ansanto. In Villamaina there is a sculptural park dedicated to the Madonna dell'Antica, with works by sculptors Vincenzo Caputo and Alessandro Battaglino, including the famous face of the Redeemer.

Villamaina was the small fief of the Caracciolo family, which gave the Italian South prominent personalities including the Marquis of Villamaina Domenico Caracciolo, Viceroy of Sicily from 1781 and Prime Minister (1786-1789) of Ferdinand IV of Bourbon. A multifaceted intellectual and an experienced reformer, he had very close ties with the most famous British and French Enlighteners: Hume, Helvetius, D'Alembert, Diderot, D'Holbach. In Paris, ours was the "Ambassador of the Enlightenment" for his fame as a shrewd and lively conversationalist in fashionable salons. In Palermo, instead, he was the "executioner of the Inquisition", who abolished without hesitation, and the flogging of the baronial arrogance. Returning to Naples as Prime Minister, he took care of numerous reforms, giving absolute priority to the enhancement of cultural heritage. Madame de Staël would call him a man of "extraordinary culture and great cleverness". Domenico Caracciolo was the first true statesman of a pre-unification Italian kingdom. Inside the Antica Taverna di Villamaina, a portrait, a copy of the original located in the Sala dei Vicerè, at the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo, recalls his memory.