Ginestra degli Schiavoni is one of the smallest villages in the Benevento area with around 420 inhabitants and located in the Miscano valley, west of the Ginestra stream and east of the Cuparella valley.
During the period of Lombard domination, the village took the name ‘Lombarda Massa’ (meaning the estate of the Lombards) and only after 900, the community moved the centre of the village to the promontory where it stands today.
In 1100, during the period of Norman rule, there was the first reference to the name ‘Ginestra’. The name refers to the Broom plant, which was particularly present in the area.
After the conquest of the Ottomans in the Balkans, several families from Albania came to settle in the village in 1528. At the time, Albania was called ‘Schiavona’ and this is where the municipality gets its name from.
The first feudal lords were the Angevins, followed by the Paganos, the De Sabrans and the Sforzas. Later, the territory came under the control of the Carafa, the Caracciolo in 1579 and the Spina. In 1617, the feud became the property of Marco Ciaburro, the first Spanish baron of the region. The village remained in the possession of the Ciaburro family until the abandonment of the feudal system. In 1811, the municipality was aggregated to Capitanata and after the Unification of Italy, it was incorporated into the province of Benevento.
The economy of the municipality of Ginestra degli Schiavoni consists mainly of agriculture, forestry, wind farms and photovoltaic power plants.