Avellino is a town and
comuneIn Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division of both provinces and regions, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.- Importance and function :...
, capital of the
province of AvellinoThe Province of Avellino is a province in the Campania region of Italy. The area is typified by many small towns and villages scattered across the province; in fact only two towns have a population over 20,000; its capital city Avellino and Ariano Irpino....
in the
CampaniaCampania is a region of southern Italy in Europe. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,595 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
region of southern
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains 42 km (26 mi) north-east of
NaplesNaples in Italy, is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old...
and is an important hub on the road from
SalernoSalerno is a small city in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
to
BeneventoBenevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato. It is also the seat of a Catholic archbishop.Benevento occupies the site of...
.
Before the Roman conquest, the ancient
Abellinum was a centre of the Samnite
HirpiniThe Hirpini , were an ancient people of central Italy, of Samnite race, and who were often regarded as constituting only a portion of the Samnite people, while at other times they are treated as a distinct and independent nation...
.
The town was Christianized around 500 AD, becoming an episcopal see.
Avellino is a town and
comuneIn Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division of both provinces and regions, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.- Importance and function :...
, capital of the
province of AvellinoThe Province of Avellino is a province in the Campania region of Italy. The area is typified by many small towns and villages scattered across the province; in fact only two towns have a population over 20,000; its capital city Avellino and Ariano Irpino....
in the
CampaniaCampania is a region of southern Italy in Europe. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,595 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
region of southern
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains 42 km (26 mi) north-east of
NaplesNaples in Italy, is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old...
and is an important hub on the road from
SalernoSalerno is a small city in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
to
BeneventoBenevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato. It is also the seat of a Catholic archbishop.Benevento occupies the site of...
.
History
Before the Roman conquest, the ancient
Abellinum was a centre of the Samnite
HirpiniThe Hirpini , were an ancient people of central Italy, of Samnite race, and who were often regarded as constituting only a portion of the Samnite people, while at other times they are treated as a distinct and independent nation...
.
The town was Christianized around 500 AD, becoming an episcopal see. There followed the invasions of the
GothsThe Goths were a heterogeneous East Germanic tribe. The historian Jordanes claimed that the Goths arrived from semi-legendary Scandza, believed to be somewhere in modern Götaland , and that a Gothic population had crossed the Baltic Sea before the 2nd century, lending their name to the region of...
and Vandals. Subsequently Avellino became a
LombardThe Lombards were a Germanic people originally from Northern Europe who settled in the valley of the Danube and from there invaded Byzantine Italy in 568 under the leadership of Alboin. They established a Kingdom of Italy which lasted until 774, when it was conquered by the Franks...
centre, with a castle on the Terra hill. In the early Middle Ages it was part of the
Duchy (later Principate) of BeneventoThe Duchy and later Principality of Benevento was the southernmost Lombard duchy in medieval Italy, centred on Benevento, a city central in the Mezzogiorno. Owing to the Ducatus Romanus of the popes, which cut it off from the rest of Lombard Italy, Benevento was from the first practically...
and, after the latter’s fall, of the Principate of Salerno.
In 1100, during the Norman rule of southern Italy, it was acquired by Riccardo dell’Aquila. Later King Charles I of Anjou assigned it to the
Montfort- People :* Amaury de Montfort, Canon of York * Amaury I de Montfort * Amaury IV de Montfort * Bertrade de Montfort , Queen of France* Guy de Montfort, Count of Nola...
family, who were succeeded by the
Del BalzoThis is a list of the Lords, Barons and Marquisses of Baux.-Lords of Baux of the House of Baux:*Pons *Hugh 1 , son of*William I Hugh , son of*Raymond I , son of*Hugh II son of...
and the
FilangieriThe Filangieri were an Italo-Norman noble family with origins near Nocera in the Kingdom of Sicily, but they rose to prominence at Naples...
an of the
House of CandiaThe House of Candia also called "Candida" in Latin is a European dynastic house, originally from "Castrum Candiaco" in the Dauphiné of the nobility of Savoy and Piemont, descendants of Burgundians and Lombards and related to the Norman dynasty from the seat at the Baronnie de Candé and latter...
.
The feudal rights to Avellino were purchased in 1581 by Don Marino I Caracciolo, duke of
AtripaldaAtripalda is a town in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy....
, of a patrician family of Naples, who was made Prince of Avellino in 1589. Avellino became the main seat of the Caracciolo. Don Marino’s son and grandson were consecutively Grand Chancellor of the Kingdom of Naples and chevaliers of the
Order of the Golden FleeceNOT to be confused with the Golden Fleece Award.The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges in 1430 by Duke Philip III of Burgundy to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Isabel of Aviz.- Origin :...
. The grandson, Don Marino II (1587-1630), was the patron of
Giambattista BasileGiambattista Basile was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector.- Biography :Born to a Neapolitan middle-class family, Basile was, during his career, a courtier and soldier to various Italian princes, including the doge of Venice. According to Benedetto Croce he was born in 1575, while...
, author of the
Pentamerone.
In 1820 Avellino was seat of revolutionary riots. However, the Unification of Italy some fifty years later did not bring any benefit to the city, being cut off from the main railway line Naples-Benevento-
FoggiaFoggia is a city of Puglia, Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy".-History:...
, and far from the sea as well.
In 1943 the city was bombed by Allied planes in an attempt to cut off the retreat of German panzer units over the important Bridge of Ferriera.
Avellino has suffered from seismic activity throughout its history and was struck hard by the
earthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph...
s of 23 November, 1980 and 14 February, 1981.
Main sights
Some ruins of the ancient
Abellinum can be seen near the modern village of Atripalda, 4 km (2.5 mi) East of modern Avellino.
The Cathedral, with its
RomanesqueRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe, characterised by semi-circular arches, and evolving into the Gothic style, characterised by pointed arches, beginning in the 12th century...
cryptIn architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a church usually used as a chapel or burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
, stands on the site of a rich and famous
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
villa which was built around 129 BC and abandoned after the eruption of Vesuvius and associated earthquake in 346.
There are some remains of the Lombard castle in Piazza Castello (Castle Square).
Notable people
- Antonio Maccanico, politician
- Biagio Agnes, journalist
- Mario Agnes, journalist
- Maurizio Lanzaro
Maurizio Lanzaro is an Italian footballer. He plays for Reggina.Lanzaro joined Genoa in July 2005 but canceled due to the relegation of Genoa.-External links:*http://www.tuttocalciatori.net/Lanzaro_Maurizio...
, footballer
- Milly D'Abbraccio, pornographic actress
- Pino (Sepp) D'Amore, writer
- Albina Bruno, swing dancer
- Federico Amodeo, mathematician
- Gianfranco Rotondi
Gianfranco Rotondi is an Italian politician, and the current leader of the Christian Democracy for the Autonomies since June 2005.- Biography :Rotondi was born in Avellino, Campania....
, politician
- Ralph Sazio
Ralph Joseph Sazio is a former football player, assistant coach, head coach general manager and team president for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He also served as president of the Toronto Argonauts...
, football player and coach
- Lino Jannuzzi, politician and journalist
- Sonia Aquino
- Biography :Theatre, cinema and television actress, she graduated at the National School of the Cinema in Rome and attended Francesca De Sapio's Duse Studio. Moreover she studied performing arts at the theatre "Bellini" in Naples, taking part in some stages held by Peter Del Monte, Marco...
, actress
- Jimmy Petruzzi, football coach
See also
- U.S. Avellino
Avellino Calcio 12 S.S.D. is an Italian football club, based in Avellino, Campania. The club was founded in 1912...
, the town's football club, currently in Serie BSerie B is the name of the second highest football league in Italy. It consists of 22 teams. The championship is often called the cadetti, which means 'juniors' or 'cadets', or campionato cadetto. It is organized by Lega Calcio, as the major tounament....
- S.S. Felice Scandone
S.S. Felice Scandone, also known by their sponsorship name of Air Avellino, is a prominent Italian League professional basketball club that is based in Avellino, in southern Italy.-Naming:...
, the town's basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
club, currently in Lega Basket Serie AIn Italian professional basketball, the Lega Basket Serie A is the highest level club competition where play determines the national champion. The season consists of a home-and-away schedule of 30 games, followed by an eight-team playoff round. Quarterfinals and semifinals series are best-of-five,...
- Stadio Partenio
Stadio Partenio is a multi-purpose stadium in Avellino, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and the home of U.S. Avellino. The stadium was built in 1973 and holds 26,308....
- Avellino railway station
External links