Avellino
Encyclopedia
Avellino 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 (26 mi) north-east of Naples
and is an important hub on the road from Salerno
to Benevento
.
.
The town was Christianized around 500 AD, becoming an episcopal see. There followed the invasions of the Goths
and Vandals. Subsequently Avellino became a Lombard
centre, with a castle on the Terra hill. In the early Middle Ages it was part of the Duchy (later Principality) of Benevento
and, after the latter’s fall, of the Principality 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
family, who were succeeded by the Del Balzo
and the Filangieri
an of the House of Candia
.
The feudal rights to Avellino were purchased in 1581 by Don Marino I Caracciolo, duke of Atripalda
, 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 Fleece
. The grandson, Don Marino II (1587–1630), was the patron of Giambattista Basile
, 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-Foggia
, 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 earthquake
s of 23 November 1980 and 14 February 1981. Avellino has also received ashfall from numerous eruptions of Vesuvius which lies almost due west; the city is the type locality
of pumice
deposited from a Plinian eruption
of Vesuvius about 3800 years ago
.
The Cathedral, with its Romanesque
crypt
, stands on the site of a rich and famous Roman
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). Because the castle was built at the base of a small valley, its tactical purpose continues to puzzle modern-day historians throughout Europe.
, mob boss Tony Soprano
has his family roots in Avellino. Tony's grandfather, Corrado Soprano Sr, a stonemason, emigrated from Avellino to the United States in the early 20th century.
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:...
, capital of the province of Avellino
Province of Avellino
The 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 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...
region of southern Italy
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...
. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains 42 km (26 mi) north-east 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 is an important hub on the road from Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune 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 Benevento
Benevento
Benevento 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...
.
History
Before the Roman conquest, the ancient Abellinum was a centre of the Samnite HirpiniHirpini
The Hirpini , were an ancient Samnite people of central Italy. While general regarded as having been Samnites, sometimes 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 Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
and Vandals. Subsequently Avellino became a Lombard
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...
centre, with a castle on the Terra hill. In the early Middle Ages it was part of the Duchy (later Principality) of Benevento
Duchy of Benevento
The 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 Principality 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
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 Balzo
Lords of Baux
This is a list of the Lords, Barons and Marquisses of Baux.-Lords of Baux of the House of Baux:*Pons , father of*Hugh 1 , father of*William I Hugh , father of*Raymond I , father of*Hugh II...
and the Filangieri
Filangieri
The 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 Candia
House of Candia
The House of Candia is a European dynastic house, created by a junior branch of the House of Anjou originally from "Castrum Candiaco" in the Dauphiné of the nobility of Savoy and Piemont...
.
The feudal rights to Avellino were purchased in 1581 by Don Marino I Caracciolo, duke of Atripalda
Atripalda
Atripalda is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. As of 2011 its population was of 11,149.-History:The town is the home of the ruins of Abellinum, the Ancient Roman Avellino.-Geography:...
, 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 Fleece
Order of the Golden Fleece
The Order of the Golden Fleece is an order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip III, Duke of Burgundy in 1430, to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess Infanta Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King John I of Portugal. It evolved as one of the most prestigious orders in Europe...
. The grandson, Don Marino II (1587–1630), was the patron of Giambattista Basile
Giambattista Basile
Giambattista 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
Pentamerone
The Pentamerone is a seventeenth-century fairy tale collection by Italian poet and courtier Giambattista Basile.-Background:...
.
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-Foggia
Foggia
Foggia is a city and comune of Apulia, 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 earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
s of 23 November 1980 and 14 February 1981. Avellino has also received ashfall from numerous eruptions of Vesuvius which lies almost due west; the city is the type locality
Type locality (geology)
Type locality , also called type area or type locale, is the where a particular rock type, stratigraphic unit, fossil or mineral species is first identified....
of pumice
Pumice
Pumice is a textural term for a volcanic rock that is a solidified frothy lava typically created when super-heated, highly pressurized rock is violently ejected from a volcano. It can be formed when lava and water are mixed. This unusual formation is due to the simultaneous actions of rapid...
deposited from a Plinian eruption
Plinian eruption
Plinian eruptions, also known as 'Vesuvian eruptions', are volcanic eruptions marked by their similarity to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 ....
of Vesuvius about 3800 years ago
Avellino eruption
The Avellino eruption of Mount Vesuvius refers to a Plinian-type eruption that occurred in the 2nd millennium BC and is estimated to have had a VEI of 6...
.
Main sites
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 Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
, stands on the site of a rich and famous Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to 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). Because the castle was built at the base of a small valley, its tactical purpose continues to puzzle modern-day historians throughout Europe.
Airports
The nearest airports are:- Salerno-Pontecagnano (QSR) 51 km
- Napoli-CapodichinoNaples AirportNaples Airport can refer to:*Naples International Airport in Naples, Italy*Naples Municipal Airport in Naples, Florida...
(NAP) 53 km
Notable people
- Albina Bruno, swing dancer
- Antonio Maccanico, politician
- Biagio Agnes, journalist
- Carmen GiannattasioCarmen GiannattasioCarmen Giannattasio is an operatic Italian soprano. In 2002 she won first and audience prize at Operalia competition in Paris.She has recordered with OPERARARA: La donna del lago by Gioacchino Rossini, Parisina d'Este by Gaetano Donizetti, Ermione by Gioacchino Rossini and Il Pirata by Vincenzo...
, operatic soprano - Federico Amodeo, mathematician
- Gianfranco RotondiGianfranco RotondiGianfranco Rotondi is an Italian politician, and the current leader of the Christian Democracy for Autonomies since June 2005.- Biography :Rotondi was born in Avellino, Campania....
, politician - Jimmy Petruzzi, football coach
- Lino Jannuzzi, politician and journalist
- Luca NapolitanoLuca NapolitanoLuca Napolitano is an Italian singer-songwriter.- Career :In 2008 he joined to the eighth edition of the Italian talent show Amici di Maria De Filippi, after four years of trying. He reached the final stage and he finished in third place. He signed a contract with Warner Music and he released in...
, singer, artist - Mario Agnes, journalist
- Maurizio LanzaroMaurizio LanzaroMaurizio Lanzaro is an Italian footballer. He plays for Real Zaragoza.-External links:* * **...
, footballer - Patrick Ranaudo, Social and Economic Essayist
- Pino (Sepp) D'Amore, writer
- Ralph SazioRalph SazioRalph 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...
, Canadian football player and coach - Sonia AquinoSonia 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 - Patrick Vardaro, owner of Boston Olive Oil Company
- Nicholas Argento,owner of Nick Argento's Market, Worcester,Massachusetts, USA
In fiction
In the HBO television series The SopranosThe Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, mob boss Tony Soprano
Tony Soprano
Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
has his family roots in Avellino. Tony's grandfather, Corrado Soprano Sr, a stonemason, emigrated from Avellino to the United States in the early 20th century.
See also
- A.S. Avellino, the town's football club, currently in Lega Pro Prima Divisione
- S.S. Felice ScandoneS.S. Felice ScandoneS.S. Felice Scandone, also known by their sponsorship name of Sidigas Avellino, is a prominent Italian League professional basketball club that is based in Avellino, in southern Italy. For past club sponsorship names, see the list below.-History:...
, the town's basketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
club, currently in Lega Basket Serie ASerie A (basketball)Lega Basket Serie A is the highest level club competition in Italian professional basketball 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, and... - Stadio PartenioStadio PartenioStadio Partenio-Adriano Lombardi is a multi-purpose stadium in Avellino, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home of A.S. Avellino 1912. The stadium was built in 1973 and holds 26,308....
- Avellino railway stationAvellino railway stationAvellino is the main railway station of the Italian city of Avellino, in the region of Campania. It is owned by the Ferrovie dello Stato, the national rail company of Italy, and is classified Silver.-Geography:...