The Province of Avellino ( it, Provincia di Avellino) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

in the

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

region of

Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the pe ...

. The area is characterized by numerous small towns and villages scattered across the province; only two towns have a population over 20,000: its capital city

Avellino 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 east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

(in the west) and

Ariano Irpino Ariano Irpino (formerly Ariano di Puglia or simply Ariano) is an Italian city and municipality in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region. With a population of 22,535 (2017), it is the second-largest settlement of the Irpinia district an ...

(in the north).

Geography

It has an area of and a total population of 401,028 per 30.9.2021. There are 118 '' comuni'' in the province, with the main towns being

and

. See Comuni of the Province of Avellino. It is an inner province, with no connection to the sea.

History

The ancient inhabitants of the area were the

Hirpini The Hirpini ( Latin: ') were an ancient Samnite tribe of Southern Italy. While generally regarded as having been Samnites, sometimes they are treated as a distinct and independent nation. They inhabited the southern portion of Samnium, in the mo ...

, whose name stems from the

Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including t ...

term ''hirpus'' ("wolf"), an animal that is still present in the territory, though in greatly reduced numbers. In the province of Avellino there are many archaeological Roman sites, with Aeclanum being the most important. In the Middle Age, the was the first political body established in 1022 by the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

in the South of Italy, and there Roger II (crowned

King of Sicily The monarchs of Sicily ruled from the establishment of the County of Sicily in 1071 until the "perfect fusion" in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in 1816. The origins of the Sicilian monarchy lie in the Norman conquest of southern Italy which occ ...

in the Cathedral of Avellino in 1130) promulgated in 1140 the Assizes of Ariano, the first legislative code of the Kingdom. In the medieval

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

(later Kingdom of Two Sicilies) the provincial area roughly corresponded to the ''Principato Ultra'', though some places were included in ''Capitanata'' or ''Principato Citra''. The modern province was established in 1860, after the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

Main sights

Tourist destinations are the Sanctuaries of Montevergine, San Gerardo Maiella of Caposele and San Francesco a Folloni; the ski resort of Laceno; the and the

Cathedral Church A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, the archeological areas of

Avella Avella is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. Etymology Could be related to the Indo-European root ''*h₂ebōl, *h₂ebl'' ( apple), meaning "place where apple-orchards originated" (read below). Hi ...

and Aeclanum, the Lancellotti castle in

Lauro Lauro is a town and '' comune'' (municipality) in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. It is located in lower Irpinia, in a woody valley. Sights include the remains of a 1st-century BC Roman ''thermae In ancient Rome, (fr ...

, the medieval town of Gesualdo, the Roman ruins of Abellinum and the early Christian basilica in Prata. The Selachoidei National Gallery at Avellino houses one of the largest collections of cartilaginous fishes in the country, whereas the City Museum and Ceramics Gallery at Ariano Irpino shows a print room with a great display of typical . Natural attractions include the Monti Piacentini and Partenio Regional Parks, together with two WWF sites, Valle della Caccia in

Senerchia Senerchia (Sinerchia in the local dialect) is an Italian municipality with 1370 registered voters, but only 1036 inhabitants, in the Province of Avellino, located in the upper valley of the Sele River in Campania. It was the site of the defeat of ...

and the area around the Ofanto dam in

Conza della Campania Conza della Campania (or Conza di Campania; formerly called Compsa, commonly known as Conza (Campanian: )) is a '' comune'' (municipality) and former Latin Catholic (arch)bishopric in the province of Avellino in the region of Campania in souther ...

Cuisine

Typical products are hazelnuts (one third of the whole Italian production), the

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrel ...

Montella Montella is an Italian town and '' comune'' (municipality) in the province of Avellino, Campania, with a population of 7,699. The zone was inhabited already in the neolithic period. The town was founded by the Samnites in the 1st millennium B ...

, the renowned wines

Aglianico Aglianico ( , ) is a black grape grown in the southern regions of Italy, mostly Basilicata and Campania. It is considered with Sangiovese and Nebbiolo to be one of the three greatest Italian varieties. Aglianico is sometimes called "The Barolo ...

, Taurasi,

Greco di Tufo Greco is an Italian wine grape that may be of Greek origin. The name relates to both white ''(Greco bianco)'' and black ''(Greco nero)'' grape varieties. While there is more land area dedicated to ''Greco nero'', the ''Greco bianco'' is the gr ...

and

Fiano di Avellino Fiano is a white Italian wine grape variety that is grown primarily in the Campania region of southern Italy and on the island of Sicily. In Campania, this fairly strong flavored white wine grape is particularly noted around Avellino where th ...

, cherries, cheeses (as the caciocavallo of Montella), the black truffle of

Bagnoli Irpino Bagnoli Irpino is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy. The bordering municipalities of Bagnoli are Acerno, Calabritto, Caposele, Lioni, Montella and Nusco. The only ''frazione'' is Laceno Laceno is an Italian h ...

, the olive oil of

References

External links