Acerra
Encyclopedia
Acerra is a town and comune
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 Acerrano plain.
with the name of Akeru (Latin
: Acerrae). It was the first Roman
city that was granted the status of civitas sine suffragio
(332 BC).
Acerra was destroyed by Hannibal in 216 BC, but was restored in 210 BC.
Acerra served as a Roman base during the Social War
in 90 BC.
In 826 the Lombards
built here a castle, later destroyed by Bono of Naples. In 881 it was sacked by the Saracens. Later it was a Norman
possession, the seat of a county. As part of the Kingdom of Naples
, it was a fief of the Aquino, the Origlia, the Orsini del Balzo and, from 1496 until 1812, the Cardenas. From 1927 it was part of the province of Terra di Lavoro
.
In July 2005 a statue of the Virgin Mary in St Peter's Church was said to move and take on a pink colour. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4717477.stm
, and Marigliano
had been identified as the three points of the so-called "Triangle of Death" in which illegal waste management
by criminal organizations ("ecomafia") have resulted in environmental conditions endangering the health of the region's people.
In October 2000, the Italian Parliament approved the findings of a commission which studied activities in Campania
by the Camorra
, which had been profiting from illegal waste management activities. Incidentally, the Chicago gangster Giuseppe "Diamond Joe" Esposito
was born in Acerra in 1872.
The scientific journal The Lancet Oncology
published in 2004 a study by the Italian researcher Alfredo Mazza, a physiologist at the Italian CNR (Centro Nazionale per la Ricerca): this study revealed the terrible situation in the countryside of Campania and the negative impact on the people's health. He demonstrated that the deaths by cancer in that region are much higher than the European average.
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:...
of 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...
, southern Italy, in the Province of Naples
Province of Naples
The 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:...
, about 20 km northeast of the provincial capital in 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...
. It is part of the Agro Acerrano plain.
History
Acerra is one of the most ancient cities of the region, probably founded by the OsciOsci
The Osci , were an Italic people of Campania and Latium adiectum during Roman times. They spoke the Oscan language, also spoken by the Samnites of Southern Italy. Although the language of the Samnites was called Oscan, the Samnites were never called Osci, or the Osci Samnites...
with the name of Akeru (Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
: Acerrae). It was the first Roman
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
city that was granted the status of civitas sine suffragio
Civitas sine suffragio
Civitas sine suffragio was a level of citizenship in the Roman Republic which granted all the rights of Roman citizenship except the right to vote in popular assemblies. This status was first extended to some of the city-states which had been incorporated into the Republic following the break-up...
(332 BC).
Acerra was destroyed by Hannibal in 216 BC, but was restored in 210 BC.
Acerra served as a Roman base during the Social War
Social War
The Allied War was a war waged from 91 to 88 BC between the Roman Republic and several of the other cities in Italy, which prior to the war had been Roman allies for centuries.-Origins:The Early Italian campaigns saw the Roman conquest of Italy...
in 90 BC.
In 826 the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
built here a castle, later destroyed by Bono of Naples. In 881 it was sacked by the Saracens. Later it was a Norman
Italo-Norman
The Italo-Normans, or Siculo-Normans when referring to Sicily, were the Italian-born descendants of the first Norman conquerors to travel to the southern Italy in the first half of the eleventh century...
possession, the seat of a county. As part of the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
, it was a fief of the Aquino, the Origlia, the Orsini del Balzo and, from 1496 until 1812, the Cardenas. From 1927 it was part of the province of Terra di Lavoro
Terra di Lavoro
Terra di Lavoro is the name of a historical region of southern Italy. It corresponds roughy to the modern southern Lazio and northern Campania regions of Italy....
.
In July 2005 a statue of the Virgin Mary in St Peter's Church was said to move and take on a pink colour. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4717477.stm
Influence of Camorra
Acerra has been in the spotlight recently in regard to the growing problem of the disposal and treatment of industrial and urban waste in the area. Acerra, NolaNola
Nola is a city and comune of Campania, southern Italy, in the province of Naples, situated in the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines...
, and Marigliano
Marigliano
Marigliano 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 19 km from Naples...
had been identified as the three points of the so-called "Triangle of Death" in which illegal waste management
Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal,managing and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics...
by criminal organizations ("ecomafia") have resulted in environmental conditions endangering the health of the region's people.
In October 2000, the Italian Parliament approved the findings of a commission which studied activities in 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...
by the 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:...
, which had been profiting from illegal waste management activities. Incidentally, the Chicago gangster Giuseppe "Diamond Joe" Esposito
Joseph Esposito (mobster)
Joseph "Diamond Joe" Esposito was a Prohibition-era Chicago politician who was involved in bootlegging, extortion, prostitution and labor racketeering with the Genna Brothers...
was born in Acerra in 1872.
The scientific journal The Lancet Oncology
The Lancet
The Lancet is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal. It is one of the world's best known, oldest, and most respected general medical journals...
published in 2004 a study by the Italian researcher Alfredo Mazza, a physiologist at the Italian CNR (Centro Nazionale per la Ricerca): this study revealed the terrible situation in the countryside of Campania and the negative impact on the people's health. He demonstrated that the deaths by cancer in that region are much higher than the European average.
Main sights
- Acerra CathedralAcerra CathedralAcerra Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the town of Acerra in Campania, southern Italy.Since the 11th century it has been the seat of the Bishop of Acerra....
, originally built over an ancient temple of Hercules and remade in the 19th century. It houses some Baroque canvasses from the 17th century. Annexed is the Bishop's Palace. - Church of Corpus Domini (16th century).
- Church of Annunziata (15th century), with a 12th century crucifix and a 15th century Annunciation attributed to Dello Delli.
- Church of San Pietro (16th-17th centuries)
- Baronal Castle.
- Archaeological area of Suessula.
Sources
- Senior, Kathryn, and Alfredo Mazza. "Italian 'Triangle of Death' Linked to Waste Crisis". The Lancet Journal, Vol. 5, No. 9. 1 September 2004. (Retrieved from Uonna Club web site, 23 September 2006).
- Bianchi, Fabrizio, Pietro Comba, Marcio Martuzzi, Raffaele Palombino, and Renato Pizzuti. "Reflection & Reaction: Italian 'Triangle of death'". The Lancet Oncology, Vol. 5. December 2004. (Retrieved from the EpiCentro web site, 23 September 2006).
External links
- Relazione della Commissione Parlamentare, an article about the Camorra in Campania (October 2000).
- "The Death Triangle", published by the Italian newspaper Repubblica.it (2004).
- Acerrae in William Smith’s Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854).