Nola is a city of
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...
,
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...
, in the
province of NaplesThe Province of Naples is a province in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital city is Naples, within the province there are 92 Comuni of the Province of Naples.-Demographics:...
, situated in the plain between
Mount VesuviusMount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano east of Naples, Italy. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
and the
ApenninesThe Apennines or Apennine Mountains is a mountain range stretching c. 1,200 km from the north to the south of Italy along its east coast, traversing the entire peninsula, and forming the backbone of the country...
. It is served by the
CircumvesuvianaCircumvesuviana is a group of narrow-gauge railways connecting towns to the south-east of Naples, Italy. Its tracks run around the base of Mt. Vesuvius, and , they completely encircle it, as well as running on down the Sorrento peninsula...
railway from Naples.
Nola in Bronze Age times was the site of a settlement that has yielded evidence of the destructive power of an eruption by
Mount VesuviusMount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano east of Naples, Italy. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
between 1700 BC and 1600 BC (the
Avellino eruptionThe Avellino eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred in the 2nd millennium BC and is estimated to VEI 6. It was Radiocarbon dated to 1660 BC , making it a possible candidate for the 1620s BC climatic disturbances....
). Excavations revealed extensive evidence of a small village abandoned quickly by its occupants at the time of the eruption so that a wide range of pottery and other artifacts were left behind to survive with the imprint of buildings in the mud from the eruption.
Called
Nuvlana on the most ancient coins, it was one of the oldest cities of Campania: it is said to have been founded by the
AusonesThe Ausones were an ancient Italic tribe settled in the southern part of Italy. Often confused with the Aurunci, they share with them only a probably common origin.- History :...
.
Nola is a city of
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...
,
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...
, in the
province of NaplesThe Province of Naples is a province in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital city is Naples, within the province there are 92 Comuni of the Province of Naples.-Demographics:...
, situated in the plain between
Mount VesuviusMount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano east of Naples, Italy. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
and the
ApenninesThe Apennines or Apennine Mountains is a mountain range stretching c. 1,200 km from the north to the south of Italy along its east coast, traversing the entire peninsula, and forming the backbone of the country...
. It is served by the
CircumvesuvianaCircumvesuviana is a group of narrow-gauge railways connecting towns to the south-east of Naples, Italy. Its tracks run around the base of Mt. Vesuvius, and , they completely encircle it, as well as running on down the Sorrento peninsula...
railway from Naples.
Ancient era
Nola in Bronze Age times was the site of a settlement that has yielded evidence of the destructive power of an eruption by
Mount VesuviusMount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano east of Naples, Italy. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although it is not currently erupting...
between 1700 BC and 1600 BC (the
Avellino eruptionThe Avellino eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred in the 2nd millennium BC and is estimated to VEI 6. It was Radiocarbon dated to 1660 BC , making it a possible candidate for the 1620s BC climatic disturbances....
). Excavations revealed extensive evidence of a small village abandoned quickly by its occupants at the time of the eruption so that a wide range of pottery and other artifacts were left behind to survive with the imprint of buildings in the mud from the eruption.
Called
Nuvlana on the most ancient coins, it was one of the oldest cities of Campania: it is said to have been founded by the
AusonesThe Ausones were an ancient Italic tribe settled in the southern part of Italy. Often confused with the Aurunci, they share with them only a probably common origin.- History :...
. The latter were certainly in Nola about 560 BC. When it sent assistance to Naples against the Roman invasion (328 BC) it was probably occupied by the Oscans in alliance with the Samnites. In the Samnite War (311 BC) the town was taken by the Romans, while in the
Second Punic WarThe Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, who had three warring conflicts against each...
it thrice offered defiance to Hannibal (first, second, and third Battle of Nola) and on two occasions (215 and 214) it was defended by Marcellus. In the Social War it was given by treason into the hands of the Samnites, who kept it until
MariusGaius Marius was a Roman general and politician elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career...
, with whom they had sided, was defeated by
SullaLucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , or simply Sulla, was a Roman general and politician, holding the office of consul twice as well as the dictatorship....
, who in 80 BC subjected it together with the rest of
SamniumSamnium is a historical region of the south central Apennines in Italy, that was home to the Samnites, a group of Sabellic tribes that controlled the area from about 600 BC to about 290 BC. Samnium was delimited by Latium in the north, by Lucania in the south, by Campania in the west and by Apulia...
. Seven years later it was stormed by
SpartacusSpartacus , according to Roman historians, was a slave and a gladiator who became a leader in the major slave uprising against the Roman Republic known as the Third Servile War...
, for which reason Augustus and Vespasian sent colonies there.
Nola, though losing much of its importance, remained a
municipium with its own institutions and the use of the
Oscan languageOscan, the language of the Osci, is in the Sabellic branch of the Italic language family, which is a branch of Indo-European that also includes Umbrian, Latin, and Faliscan....
. It became a Roman colony under Augustus, who died there in 14 AD. Later it became an important site of Christian pilgrimage and hospitality, after the Christian senator Paulinus relocated to the town, eventually becoming bishop.
Nola lay on the
Via Popilia from
CapuaCapua is a city in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. The city is often mistaken for Santa Maria Capua Vetere: the remains of the ancient Capua are effectively located in the latter commune's...
to
Nocera InferioreNocera Inferiore, formerly Nocera dei Pagani, is a town and comune in Campania, Italy, in the province of Salerno, at the foot of Monte Albino, 20 km east-south-east of Naples by rail,...
and the south, and a branch road ran from it to
AbellaAbella was a 14th century Italian physician who taught at the Salerno school of medicine. Her published medical treatises, De atrabile and De natura seminis humani , have not survived.-References:...
and
AvellinoAvellino is a town and comune, capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains 42 km north-east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento.-History:Before the Roman conquest, the...
.
MommsenMommsen is a surname, and may refer to one of a family of German historians, see Mommsen family:*Theodor Mommsen*Tycho Mommsen*Wilhelm Mommsen*Theodor Ernst Mommsen*Hans Mommsen*Wolfgang Mommsen...
(
Corp. inscr. Lat. X. 142) further states that roads must have run direct from Nola to Neapolis and
PompeiiPompeii is a ruined and partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei...
, but
KiepertHeinrich Kiepert , German geographer, was born at Berlin as the son of a wealthy businessman.Already in his youth he traveled with his parents and had a particular interest in the geographic circumstances, which he carefully sketched...
's map annexed to the volume does not indicate them.
Middle Ages and Modern era
In 410 AD Nola was sacked by
Alaric IAlaric I , was likely born about 370 on an island named Peuce at the mouth of the Danube. He was king of the Visigoths from 395–410 and the first Germanic leader to take the city of Rome...
, in 453 by Gaiseric and his
VandalsThe Vandals were an East Germanic tribe that entered the late Roman Empire during the 5th century. The Goth Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths and regent of the Visigoths, was allied by marriage with the Vandals as well as with the Burgundians and the Franks under .The Vandals are perhaps...
, in 806 and again in 904 by the Saracens.
Captured by
Manfred of SicilyManfred was the King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266. He was an illegitimate son of the emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen but his mother, Bianca Lancia , is reported by Matthew of Paris to have been married to the emperor while on her deathbed.-Background:Manfred was born in Venosa...
in the 13th century, from the time of Charles I of Anjou to the mid-15th century, Nola was a feudal possession of the Orsini baronal family. The battle of Nola (1459) is famous for the clever stratagem by which Stephen of Anjou defeated Alfonso of Aragon.
Damaged by earthquakes in the 15th and centuries, Nola lost much of its importance. The revolution of 1820 under General Pepe began at Nola.
The sculptor Giovanni Marliano was a native of the city; and some of his works are preserved in the cathedral.
Today
Nola is a term commonly used today in the United States as acronym reference to the city of New Orleans. New Orleans Louisiana = N.O.La (Nola)
Nola today is an important town close to
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...
. However, most of its territory and economy are well under the control of the
CamorraThe Camorra is a mafia-like criminal organisation, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It finances itself through drug trafficking, extortion, protection and racketeering and its activities have led to high levels of murder in the areas in which...
.
A major
CamorraThe Camorra is a mafia-like criminal organisation, or secret society, originating in the region of Campania and its capital Naples in Italy. It finances itself through drug trafficking, extortion, protection and racketeering and its activities have led to high levels of murder in the areas in which...
's activity is the illegal treatment of urban, chemical and industrial wastes in the countryside located in the region between Nola,
AcerraAcerra is a town and municipality of Campania, southern Italy, in the Province of Naples, about 20 km northeast of the provincial capital in Naples. It is part of the Agro Nolano plain.-History:...
and
MariglianoMarigliano is a town and comune of the province of Naples, Campania in southern Italy. It is part of the Agro Nolano plain.-Geography:The town lies 25 km from Naples...
. This formerly rich and green countryside is sometimes now called the "Death Triangle".
The scientific journal
The Lancet Oncology published in 2004 a study by the Italian researcher Alfredo Mazza, a physiologist at the Italian
CNRThe Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche is an Italian public organization with the aim of supporting scientific and technological research. Its headquarters are in Rome.-History:The institution was founded in 1923...
(Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche): this study revealed the terrible situation in the countryside around Marigliano and the negative impact on the people's health. He demonstrated that the deaths by cancer are much higher than average in that region compared to the European average.
Main sights and ancient findings
- The ancient Gothic
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
cathedral (restored in 1866, and again in 1870 after the interior was destroyed by fire), with its lofty tower.
- Basilica di San Tommaso, built in the 3rd century but renovated. It has frescoes from the 9th-11th centuries depicting stories of Christ.
- Basilica of SS. Apostoli, built, according to tradition, in 95 AD. Rebuilt in 1190, it was the city's cathedral until 1593. It was decorated in Baroque style in the 1740s.
- Palazzo Orsini (built in 1470, although modified later).
- The Late-Renaissance church of San Biagio, decorated with polychrome marbles and paintings from some of the most renowned 17th century Neapolitan painters.
- The seminary in which are preserved the famous Oscan inscription known as the Cippus Abellanus (from Abella, the modern Avella
Avella is a city in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region of Italy.-History:The ancient Abella was a medium importance center of the Samnites, and then the Romans, about 10 km northeast of Nola. It had a rather large amphitheater, similar to that of Pompeii.According to Justin...
) and some LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
inscriptions relating to a treaty with Nola regarding a joint temple of HerculesHercules is the Roman name for the mythical Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena. Early Roman sources suggest that the imported Greek hero supplanted a mythic Italic shepherd called "Recaranus" or "Garanus", famous for his strength, who dedicated the Ara Maxima that became...
.
- Castle of Cicala, in the neighbourhood.
In the days of its independence Nola issued an important series of coins, and in luxury it vied with Capua. A large number of vases of Greek style were manufactured here and have been found in the neighbourhood. Their material is of pale yellow clay with shining black glaze, and they are decorated with skillfully drawn red figures. Of the ancient city, which occupied the same site as the modern town, hardly any thing is now visible, and the discoveries of the ancient street pavement have not been noted with sufficient care to enable us to recover the plan.
Numerous ruins, an
amphitheatreAn amphitheatre is an open-air venue for spectator sports, concerts, rallies, or theatrical performances. There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word 'amphitheatre' is used: Ancient amphitheatres, built by the ancient Romans, were large central performance spaces...
, still recognizable, a theatre, a temple of Augustus, etc., existed in the 16th century, and were then used for building material. A few tombs of the Roman period are preserved. The neighbourhood was divided into
pagi, the names of some of which are preserved to us (
Pagus Agrifanus,
Capriculanus,
Lanitanus). Prehistoric findings are also housed in the Archaeological Museum.
There is also a monument to
Giordano BrunoGiordano Bruno, born Filippo Bruno , was an Italian philosopher, mathematician and astronomer best known as a proponent of heliocentrism and the infinity of the universe...
, who was born at Castelcicala, a locality near Nola, in 1548.
Famous people
AugustusGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
Caesar, the first emperor of
RomeAncient 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....
, died in Nola on 19 August 14 AD.
Nola was the birthplace of
Luigi TansilloLuigi Tansillo was an Italian poet of the Petrarchian and Marinist schools. Born in Venosa, he entered the service of Pedro Álvarez de Toledo in 1536 and in 1540 entered the Accademia degli Umidi , afterwards called della Fiorentina.He was associated with the Court of Naples and served as Captain...
, Giovanni Merliano, whose work is well represented in the cathedral, of the physician Ambrogio Leo, and of the philosopher
Nicola Antonio StigliolaNicola Antonio Stigliola was an Italian philosopher, printer, architect, and medical doctor...
. Nola is, however, best known as the hometown of the philosopher
Giordano BrunoGiordano Bruno, born Filippo Bruno , was an Italian philosopher, mathematician and astronomer best known as a proponent of heliocentrism and the infinity of the universe...
, who often referred to himself as the "Nolano," and his philosophy as the "Nolana filosofia".
Nola was the home of Saint
Felix of NolaSaint Felix of Nola was a Priest martyred for the Faith following the general persecution instigated by the Emperor Decius.-Life:...
. The city was also the episcopal see of Saint Paulinus of Nola, a major theologian and writer of the late Western Roman Empire, and who is also credited with inventing the
church bellA church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
(
campana in Italian, taking its name from Campania). The church erected by him in honour of St. Felix in the 4th century is extant in part.
Culture
Two fairs are held in Nola, on June 14 and November 12. June 22 or the first Sunday after is devoted to a great festival ("La Festa Dei Gigli" or "The Festival of the Lillies") in honor of St. Paulinus.
External links