Castel Volturno
Encyclopedia
Castel Volturno is a comune
(municipality) in the Province of Caserta
in the Italian
region Campania
, located about 35 km northwest of Naples
and about 35 km west of Caserta
on the Volturno
river.
and Capua
. Volturnum became a Roman colony in 194 BC and, in 95 AD, it was reached by the Via Domitiana, and received a large bridge connecting the two shores of the river with the same name.
The town decayed after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
, and, in 806, Duke Grimoald I of Benevento
gave its port to the abbots of Montecassino. In 841 it was ravaged by Saracens. After 856, the Lombard bishop Radipert had a castle built on what remained of the bridge. After a period under local counts, in 1062 it was again given to Montecassino while in 1206, Frederick II
donated it to the archbishops of Capua.
Alfonso V of Naples
gave it to his daughter, but, when her husband, Duke Marino of Sessa, rebelled, besieged it and destroyed part of the walls (1460). The following year the king sold it to the city of Capua, which held it until the abolition of feudalism in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
in 1810. In 1812 it became an autonomous commune. In 1860 it was annexed to the newly unified Kingdom of Italy.
Castel Volturno received a boost in its agricultural activities after the nearby lands were dried during the Fascist government
, and after the new Domiziana Road and a new bridge were built (1954).
that led to the deaths of seven people on September 18, 2008. The massacre outside the Ob Ob Exotic Fashion tailor shop on the Via Domitiana was widely characterized as part of a growing conflict between the native Camorra
and the immigrant African drug gangs. Murdered were Antonio Celiento, the owner of an arcade next to Baia Verde, and six African immigrants: Samuel Kwaku, 26 (Togo); Alaj Ababa (Togo); Francis Antwi, 31 (Ghana); Eric Affum Yeboah, 25 (Ghana); Alex Geemes, 28 (Liberia) and Cristopher Adams, 28 (Liberia). Joseph Ayimbora (Ghana), 34, survived by feigning death; he later helped identify the killers.
The murders sparked violent protests from Castel Volturno's immigrant community the following day, which culminated in the signing of measures launched by the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense on combating organized crime and illegal immigration to Caserta.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
(municipality) in the Province of Caserta
Province of Caserta
The Province of Caserta is a province in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Caserta. The former royal palace of Caserta is located near to the city.It has an area of 2,639 km², and a total population of 879,342...
in the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
region Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
, located about 35 km northwest of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and about 35 km west of Caserta
Caserta
Caserta is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range...
on the Volturno
Volturno
The Volturno is a river in south-central Italy.-Geography:It rises in the Abruzzese central Apennines of Samnium near Rocchetta a Volturno and flows southeast as far as its junction with the Calore River near Caiazzo and runs south as far as Venafro, and then turns southwest, past Capua, to...
river.
History
Castel Volturno was a settlement of the Oscans and then of the Etruscans, who called it Volturnum, and was a trade point on the road to CasilinumCasilinum
Casilinum , an ancient city of Campania, Italy, 3 m. NW of the ancient Capua. Its position at the point of junction of the Via Appia and Via Latina, and at their crossing of the river Volturnus by a three-arched bridge, which still exists, gave it considerable importance under the Roman republic;...
and Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
. Volturnum became a Roman colony in 194 BC and, in 95 AD, it was reached by the Via Domitiana, and received a large bridge connecting the two shores of the river with the same name.
The town decayed after the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
, and, in 806, Duke Grimoald I of Benevento
Grimoald I of Benevento
Grimoald I was duke of Benevento and king of the Lombards .Born probably before 610 to Duke Gisulf II of Friuli and the Bavarian princess Ramhilde, daughter of Duke Garibald I of Bavaria, he succeeded his brother Radoald as duke of Benevento...
gave its port to the abbots of Montecassino. In 841 it was ravaged by Saracens. After 856, the Lombard bishop Radipert had a castle built on what remained of the bridge. After a period under local counts, in 1062 it was again given to Montecassino while in 1206, Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
donated it to the archbishops of Capua.
Alfonso V of Naples
Alfonso V of Aragon
Alfonso the Magnanimous KG was the King of Aragon , Valencia , Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica , and Sicily and Count of Barcelona from 1416 and King of Naples from 1442 until his death...
gave it to his daughter, but, when her husband, Duke Marino of Sessa, rebelled, besieged it and destroyed part of the walls (1460). The following year the king sold it to the city of Capua, which held it until the abolition of feudalism in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, commonly known as the Two Sicilies even before formally coming into being, was the largest and wealthiest of the Italian states before Italian unification...
in 1810. In 1812 it became an autonomous commune. In 1860 it was annexed to the newly unified Kingdom of Italy.
Castel Volturno received a boost in its agricultural activities after the nearby lands were dried during the Fascist government
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
, and after the new Domiziana Road and a new bridge were built (1954).
Castel Volturno massacre
The Castel Volturno massacre was a massacre perpetrated by the Casalesi clanCasalesi clan
The Casalesi clan is a clan within the Camorra, an Italian criminal organization, operating from Casal di Principe in the province of Caserta between Naples and Salerno.Formed by Antonio Bardellino, it is a confederation of clans in the Caserta area...
that led to the deaths of seven people on September 18, 2008. The massacre outside the Ob Ob Exotic Fashion tailor shop on the Via Domitiana was widely characterized as part of a growing conflict between the native Camorra
Camorra
The Camorra is a Mafia-type criminal organization, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It is one of the oldest and largest criminal organizations in Italy, dating to the 18th century.-Background:...
and the immigrant African drug gangs. Murdered were Antonio Celiento, the owner of an arcade next to Baia Verde, and six African immigrants: Samuel Kwaku, 26 (Togo); Alaj Ababa (Togo); Francis Antwi, 31 (Ghana); Eric Affum Yeboah, 25 (Ghana); Alex Geemes, 28 (Liberia) and Cristopher Adams, 28 (Liberia). Joseph Ayimbora (Ghana), 34, survived by feigning death; he later helped identify the killers.
The murders sparked violent protests from Castel Volturno's immigrant community the following day, which culminated in the signing of measures launched by the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defense on combating organized crime and illegal immigration to Caserta.
Main sights
- Castle
- Chapel of San Castrese
- Torre di Patria, a watch tower built in the 15th century