Afragola (; , ) is a city and (municipality) in the

Metropolitan City of Naples The Metropolitan City of Naples () is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Naples. The province was established on 1 January 2015 and contains 92 ''comuni'' (: ''comune''). ...

, in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is one of the 100 largest Italian cities, with a population of 61,000. The communal territory, measuring , borders the municipalities of

Acerra Acerra () is a town and ''comune'' of Campania, southern Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Naples, about northeast of the capital in Naples. It is part of the Agro Acerrano plain. History Acerra is one of the most ancient cities of the regi ...

Casalnuovo di Napoli Casalnuovo di Napoli (; ) is an Italian (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italy, Italian region of Campania, located about northeast of Naples. The municipality of Casalnuovo di Napoli contains the ''frazione, frazioni'' ...

Caivano Caivano is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 14 km northeast of Naples. The municipality contains the ''frazioni'' Casolla Valenzano and Pascarola. Pascarola ...

Cardito Cardito is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about northeast of Naples. Cardito borders the following municipalities: Afragola, Caivano, Casoria, Crispano, Frattamaggiore. It ...

and

Casoria Casoria (, ) is a (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region of Campania, located about northeast of Naples. Casoria borders the following municipalities: Afragola, Arzano, Cardito, Casalnuovo di Napoli, Casav ...

, forming a single metropolitan area of around 100,000 inhabitants. The ''comune'' of Afragola is one of the most densely populated of the country.

History

The area of modern Afragola was already settled in ancient times by the

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic peoples, Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan language, Oscan-speaking Osci, people, who originated as an offsh ...

. Older remains, belonging to an early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

settlement buried by a

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...

eruption in the 19th century BC, were found in 2005. According to a tradition now recognized as false, the town was founded in the Middle Ages, in 1140, by

Roger II of Sicily Roger II or Roger the Great (, , Greek language, Greek: Ρογέριος; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Kingdom of Sicily, Sicily and Kingdom of Africa, Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon, C ...

, who assigned the land to its veterans. It is more likely that the city stemmed from the merger of several villages and churches already existing here. The territory was originally held by the archbishops of Naples, but from 1576 it was directly subjected, as an autonomous community, to the

Kings of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou In 1382, the Kin ...

Demographics

Main sights

*Baroque sanctuary-basilica of St. Anthony's

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

. It was begun in 1633 and has a nave with two aisles, internally decorated with marbles. The bell tower was constructed from 1590. *The castle, documented from 1495, was likely built from around 1420. According to the tradition, it was a residence of queen

Joanna II of Naples Joanna II (; 25 June 1371 – 2 February 1435) was Queen of Naples from 1414 to her death in 1435, when the Capetian House of Anjou became extinct. As a mere formality, she used the title of Queen of Jerusalem, Sicily, and Hungary. Early ...

. It currently houses a childhood school. * Santa Maria d'Ajello Church, founded in 1190. It houses works by Giovan Angelo Criscuolo, Alessandro Viola (1695) and

Angelo Mozzillo Angelo Mozzillo (24 October 1736 in Afragola – May 1810, in Nola) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque, active near Naples, Italy. He initially trained with a Giuseppe Bonito (Peppariello). After 1758, he left Afragola and moved to ...

. * San Marco in Sylvis Church, built around 1179. On its external wall is a slab on which, according to the legend, once sat both St. Mark and San Gennaro. * San Marco all'Olmo Church, built in 1615 *Palazzo Migliore (17th century) * San Giorgio Martire: Parish church built in 1695-1702

Transport

Napoli Afragola railway station was designed by the architect

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

and opened in 2017. This station is only used by high-speed trains on the Rome–Naples high-speed railway line, which link Afragola to many Italian cities including Bologna, Milan, Florence and Turin. Afragola's bus network is managed by CTP (the ''Consorzio Trasporto Pubblico'' or Public Transport Consortium). The proposed Line 10 of the

Naples Metro The Naples Metro () is a rapid transit system serving the city of Naples, Campania, Italy and some parts of the adjacent ''Comune, comuni'' of its Naples metropolitan area, metropolitan area through Naples–Aversa railway, Line 11. The system ...

will also serve Afragola.

Crime and social issues

Afragola is the seat of one of the largest

camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...

clans of the area, led by Anna Mazza. In 1999 and 2005, the communal council was disbanded by rule of the President of Italian Republic due to mafia allegiance of some of its members. Along with most of the nearby communes, Afragola also suffers from high pollution rates, as well as a high

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

rate;

unreported employment Unreported employment, also known as unlawful employment, illegal employment, working under the table or off the books is employment that is illegal and not reported to the government. The employer or the employee often does so for tax evasion ...

is also widespread.

References

External links

Official website
* {{authority control Cities and towns in Campania