The Castle of Montevetrano is a medieval castle in the municipality of San Cipriano Picentino. The fortress originated from a Roman castrum of the 3rd century BC, built to control the Picentine populations who were relocated in the plain of Sele.
Between the 11th and 13th centuries, it was equipped with perimeter walls, with an entrance gate on the north side, and a cylindrical tower located inside the courtyard.
In 1867, the Carabinieri (Italian military police) used the castle to monitor the incursions of bandits. During World War II, the castle was occupied by the German army, who, thanks to its strategic position on the hill, could control the entire Sele Valley.
The castle's intact perimeter walls, four interior rooms, the three-level cylindrical tower, and two large cisterns have survived to this day.
The church of the former Franciscan monastery was built probably between 1515 and 1520. It is located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Old Rauma. The church stands by the small stream of Raumanjoki (Rauma river).
The exact age of the Church of the Holy Cross is unknown, but it was built to serve as the monastery church of the Rauma Franciscan Friary. The monastery had been established in the early 15th century and a wooden church was built on this location around the year 1420.
The Church of the Holy Cross served the monastery until 1538, when it was abandoned for a hundred years as the Franciscan friary was disbanded in the Swedish Reformation. The church was re-established as a Lutheran church in 1640, when the nearby Church of the Holy Trinity was destroyed by fire.
The choir of the two-aisle grey granite church features medieval murals and frescoes. The white steeple of the church was built in 1816 and has served as a landmark for seafarers.