The chestnut was brought to Italy by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Pliny and Ovid both mention the fruit which they call the "Amarillide acorn," and Greek writers referred to it as the "Eubea nut."

       The Castagna di Montella has a medium or small rotund shell that flattens out a little underneath. The pulp of the nut is white, crunchy and sweet. Chestnuts are a typical crop in the mountainous zone of Avellino. 
       The chestnut became an important source of revenue after the development of steam ships and the emigration to the United States and Canada of local people who then formed a receptive export market. Nowadays, some fifty per cent of local output is exported across the Atlantic.

       The chestnut is grown in a number of town districts in the province of Avellino.

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