Sant'Audeno in Montaperto, a frazione of Montemiletto, is at the centre of a joint effort to return the historic church to the community. A Soprintendenza-led inspection on 20 October 2026 brought local and project representatives together to assess a €405,000 recovery intervention associated with the Ministry of Culture. The emerging picture is that the project has addressed the structural side of the recovery, but further restoration is still needed before the church can be returned to community use.
The works are described as recovery and seismic-safety works, with the Archdiocese of Benevento identified in the reporting as the property-owning project authority. A diocesan notice confirms seismic-safety works at the church of Sant'Audeno in Montemiletto, although the acquired page text does not provide the full technical scope, final cost accounting, or completion certificate.
The oldest surviving church in Montemiletto
Sant'Audeno is presented as the oldest surviving place of worship in the municipality of Montemiletto. The historical reference cited in the research places its first documentary mention in 1227.
That long history is part of why the current intervention matters to local residents. The church is located in Montaperto at approximately 41.007422, 14.888167, according to coordinates published on the reference page.
For readers, this history helps explain the sensitivity around the works: structural safety and preservation of historic fabric have to move together in a building of this age.
What the October inspection found
The 20 October 2026 report describes a Soprintendenza inspection at Sant'Audeno with local and project representatives present. According to that report, the intervention addressed the structural part of the project but did not yet make the church ready to return to the community.
The research does not establish the final condition of the church, the completion status of the structural works, or the date of any public reopening. Those points remain unresolved in the documents acquired so far.
Reported damage to decorative elements
Reporting describes alleged damage or removal involving a wooden coffered ceiling and parts of historic red-pencil or 18th-century decorative drawings. Those claims are attributed to local historical testimony and reporting, not presented as a final independent adjudication.
A separate published account says the Soprintendenza activated the procedure under Article 160 for possible restoration. The responsibility for the reported removals and damage, the legal outcome of that procedure, and the recoverability of any fragments remain unresolved.
For readers following the story, this distinction matters: the reports document concerns raised during and after the works, but they do not provide a final independent ruling on what happened or who is responsible.
What would be needed next
The reported next step is a broader restoration effort focused on decorative elements and remaining issues, with additional funding and coordinated action still needed.
In practical terms, that means two separate questions are now running in parallel. The first is the structural and seismic-safety intervention funded through the €405,000 intervention associated with the Ministry of Culture. The second is the restoration of decorative surfaces and other outstanding issues, for which further resources and agreement among the institutions involved are described as still necessary.
Until those further steps are defined and completed, the return of Sant'Audeno to the community remains an objective rather than a confirmed outcome.
