Located upon a hill oversighting Ufita Valley, the town is known for its bread (pane di Montecalvo [it]), which is granted the |PAT quality mark, and Irpinia - Colline dell'Ufita [it] DOP olive oil.

In the countryside there are the ruins of Corsano [it] fortified village, devastated by 1656 plague and since abandoned, and Malvizza bullae [it], the widest mudpot field in Southern Italy.

[8] The first historical notice of Montecalvo is contained in a document of 1096, which refers to the sending of about sixty armed men from that area in the expedition to the Holy Land at the will of William II of Sicily.

[8] The chronicle of Alessandro Telesino recalls that in 1137 King Roger II, Norman ruler at war with the Count of Avellino, camped at the foot of the castle of Montecalvo.

Following the destruction caused by the troops of Manfredi di Svevia, the feud was first granted to the noble Matteo Diletto (1276) and then donated by King Charles I of Anjou to Giovanni Mansella of Salerno.

The violent earthquake of 1456 caused the sinking of part of the town (probably in the Fosso Palumbo) and the subsequent urban expansion outside the walls, which were never rebuilt.

In 1486, the feud came directly under the government of the Royal Court and eight years later it was sold, together with the fiefs of Corsano and Pietrapiccola, by King Alfonso II of Aragon to Ettore Pignatelli, Duke of Monteleone and Viceroy of Sicily.

Even during the Ventennio, in fact, anti-fascism remained active, especially by historical exponents of local socialism, such as the pharmacist Pietro Cristino and the confined politicians from other regions (such as the communist Concetto Lo Presti).

[12][13][14] In 1944, the local branch of the Italian Communist Party was founded, named after Giuseppe Cristino (volunteer who fell in the Spanish Civil War fighting in the International Brigades).

Remarkable inside are the high altar consisting of a monoblock of granite and the baptismal font dating back to the fifteenth century but supported by two ancient capitals of barbarian art.

Inside there are several works of art, including a wooden statue from the eighteenth century, but what is remarkable above all else is the adjacent archive-shrine that houses many relics that belonged to San Pompilio Maria Pirrotti, a native of the place.

Inside the palace there is the chapel of Santa Maria della Neve (or del Soccorso) with the characteristic majolica floor, perhaps dating back to the seventeenth century.

[10] Note that the name "Trappeto" derives from the vernacular term trappito ("oil mill" in the Irpinian dialect) Located in the Municipal Plaza (Piazza Municipio), it consists of a massive block of stone measuring 148 x 67 x 64 cm and weighing a few tons, it is equipped with hemispherical recesses at the top and some holes drilled inside.