About the origin of Pertosa, there is not sure information.
Its name comes from the term of archaic dialect Petrusu, which refers to the opening of the Angel’s Caves.
From an historical point of view, the roots of the village Petrusu would stay in the ancient settlement of ‘Consinum’, an inhabited center testified by the findings of ruins of houses and temples, in the area between the shores of the river Tanagro and the ancient state road of Calabrie.
Around the XI century, in the area of Pertosa, the Benedictines built the monastery and the Church of Saint Mary, favoring a long period of development and wealth, interrupted, in the first half of the XIV century, by a violent earthquake that razed to the ground the entire village, causing the death of almost all its inhabitants.The lands and the properties of the Abbey were given in emphyteusis to some residents of the close centers.
Two centuries later, the farmers of the adjacent villages began again to settle in the lands of Pertosa, starting its rebirth. In particular, the Benedictines, who went back to Pertosa around the half of the XVI century, rebuilt the monastery and undertook a long debate for the recognition of the ancient feud.
In 1830, with the operations of confinement of the lands, Pertosa obtained the administrative autonomy from Caggiano.
The Caves of Pertosa are the most important karst phenomenon of Campania. At the entrance of the Caves, there is an altar dedicated to Saint Michael and a boat allows entering the cavity in a suggestive way, crossing a stream that rises from the underground waters, which is called River Negro.
Pertosa stays at a height of 310 meters above sea level and counts around 820 inhabitants. The typical products are linked to the agriculture and the artisanship.
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