Irpinia (

Modern Latin Neo-LatinSidwell, Keith ''Classical Latin-Medieval Latin-Neo Latin'' in ; others, throughout. (also known as New Latin and Modern Latin) is the style of written Latin used in original literary, scholarly, and scientific works, first in Italy d ...

''Hirpinia'') is a geographical and cultural region of

Southern Italy Southern Italy (, , or , ; ; ), also known as () or (; ; ; ), is a macroregion of Italy consisting of its southern Regions of Italy, regions. The term "" today mostly refers to the regions that are associated with the people, lands or cultu ...

. It was the inland territory of the ancient ''

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 more ...

'' tribe, and its extent matches approximately today's

province of Avellino The province of Avellino () is a province in the Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea ...

Geography

The territory is largely mountainous, with an intricate network of hills and valleys and a predominantly

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

Karst topography Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

. To the north-east, however, the rocks are mostly

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, and the land's elevation is relatively lower. Irpinia is centred on the section of the

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...

which spans from the northern to the springs of the

Sele River The Sele is a river in southwestern Italy. Originating from the Monti Picentini in Caposele,Meaning "top of the Sele" it flows through the region of Campania, in the provinces of Salerno and Avellino. Its mouth is in the Gulf of Salerno, on the Ty ...

; the highest peak is Mount Avella (1,591 m). To the south are the Picentini Mountains, which include the highest peak of the region, Mount

Cervialto Cervialto is a mountain of Campania, 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 Mediterr ...

(1,809 m). Irpinia is bordered on the east by the

Ofanto The Ofanto (), known in ancient times as Aufidus or Canna, is a 134 or 170 km (83 or 110 mi, depending on the sources) river in southern Italy that flows through the regions of Campania, Basilicata, and Apulia, into the Gulf of Manfredonia near ...

valley, while to the north it merges with

Sannio Samnium () is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the The language of th ...

and

Daunia The Daunians () were an Iapygian tribe that inhabited northern Apulia in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Messapians, inhabited the central and southern Apulia respectively. Although all three tribes spoke th ...

History

The name "Irpinia" derives 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 and South Picene. Oscan was spoken by a number of t ...

word "hirpus", which means wolf, and the wolf remains Irpinia's symbol to this day. Oscan tribes of the

Sabines The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

, under demographic pressure, migrated towards this area in the 6th century BC from what is now

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

. The

occupied the region Sabato,

Calore Calore may refer to: * Calore, an Italian civil parish of the municipalities of Venticano (AV) and Mirabella Eclano (AV) * Calore Irpino, an Italian river of the provinces of Benevento and Avellino (Campania) * Calore Lucano, an Italian river of ...

, and Ofanto, becoming differentiated with time from 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 ...

who settled the area from

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

and

Matese The Matese (Italian: Monti del Matese or Massiccio del Matese) is a chain of mountains in southern Apennines, southern Italy. Geography The Matese mountains straddle two regions (Molise and Campania) and four provinces (Campobasso, Isernia, Ben ...

. The main centres of the Hirpini were ''Maloenton'' (modern

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

), ''

Aeclanum Aeclanum (also spelled Aeculanum, , ) was an ancient town of Samnium, Southern Italy, about 25 km east-southeast of Benevento, Beneventum, on the Via Appia. It lies in Passo di Mirabella, near the modern Mirabella Eclano. It is now an archa ...

'' (

Mirabella Eclano Mirabella Eclano is an Italian town and ''comune'' of the province of Avellino, in the Southern Italian Campania region. its population was of 7,904. History The Roman site of Aeclanum once stood nearby. It is now an archaeological park and li ...

), ''

Aequum Tuticum Aequum Tuticum was a Roman vicus in southern Italy, about 35 km east-northeast of Beneventum. The site lies beside Saint Eleuterio hamlet, overlooking at an elevation of 575 m, about 15 km north of the modern Ariano Irpino, within ...

'' (

Ariano Irpino Ariano Irpino (formerly known as ''Ariano di Puglia'' until 1930, and simply ''Ariano'' in historical sources and the Arianese dialect) is an Italian Comune (Italy), municipality with a population of 20,706 inhabitants located in the Province of ...

), ' (near

Roseto Valfortore Roseto Valfortore (Irpino: ) is a small town and ''comune'' of the Province of Foggia, in the Apulia Region of southeastern Italy. Located in the Daunian Mountains near Fortore springs, Roseto Valfortore is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("T ...

), ''Trivicum'' (

Trevico Trevico is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. Located in the Apennines upon a steep hill at 3,576 feet (1,090 m) altitude, Trevico is the highest inhabited place in Campania. Its main produce are hams, ch ...

), ''Compsa'' (

Conza 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 ...

), ''Aquilonia'' (

Lacedonia Lacedonia ( Irpinian: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania region, southern Italy. The town is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ariano Irpino. History Lacedonia was first called Akudunniad by the Osci and then Erdonea. A ...

), and ''Abellinum'' (

Atripalda Atripalda is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. History The town is the home of the ruins of ''Abellinum'', the Ancient Roman Avellino. A large than life-size Roman marble statue of a veiled priestess fr ...

). No certain date for the arrival of the Hiripini in the region can be given. They were already settled here at the time of the

First Samnite War The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...

(342 BC). Their name is found in sources from 280 BC, when the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

general

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus ( ; ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greeks, Greek king and wikt:statesman, statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Molossians, of the royal Aeacidae, Aeacid house, and later he became ki ...

made his expedition into Italy. A bronze medal reveals that they signed an alliance with the Samnites in 275 BC. ''Maloenton'' was early conquered by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

, which renamed it ''Beneventum'' and transformed it into a colony in 268 BC. The Hirpini suffered internal divisions at the time of the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

. Caius Marius gave them Roman citizenship in 87 BC, but they were deprived of any privilege under the former's victor,

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

(80 BC). Some Roman roads passed through Hirpini's territory:

Via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: Via Appia) is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, recor ...

, ,

Via Traiana The ''Via Traiana'' was an ancient Roman road. It was built by the emperor Trajan as an extension of the ''Via Appia'' from Beneventum, reaching Brundisium (Brindisi) by a shorter route (i.e. via Canusium, Butuntum and Barium rather than via ...

, and few other ones. After the fall of the

Western Roman Empire In modern historiography, the Western Roman Empire was the western provinces of the Roman Empire, collectively, during any period in which they were administered separately from the eastern provinces by a separate, independent imperial court. ...

, Irpinia came successively under Byzantine, Lombard,

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France ** Du ...

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

ese and finally

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

domination. As part of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially 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 established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

it was included in the ''Principato Ultra'' or ''Ulterior'', one of the few land-locked province of the kingdom. Feudalism was abolished in 1806, the same year in which Avellino was declared capital of the province. Irpinia became part of the newly united

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

in 1861. The district has been subject to a number of strong earthquakes. On November 23, 1980, the 6.9

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

affected the area with a maximum

Mercalli intensity The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS) measures the effects of an earthquake at a given location. This is in contrast with the seismic magnitude usually reported for an earthquake. Magnitude scales measure the inherent force or ...

of X (''Extreme''), killing 2,483–4,900, and injuring 7,700–8,934.

Traditional produce and tourist sites

Irpinia has a proud tradition of producing wines such as Fiano di Avellino,

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 grape most commonl ...

and

Taurasi Taurasi is a town and municipality in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. In antiquity it was a town in Samnium. The town's name probably derives from the Latin ''Taurus''. Over time it changed from ''Taurasos'' to ''Taurasia ...

, all of which are classified as

DOCG The following four classification of wine, classifications of wine constitute the Italy, Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; 'designation of origin'); * ''Indicazione ...

. Its cheeses, including

scamorza () is a Southern Italy, southern Italian Cattle, cow's milk cheese. It can also be made from other milk, but that is less common. It is a (‘stretched curd’) cheese, in which the fresh curd matures in its own whey for several hours to allo ...

and

caciocavallo () is a type of ('stretched-curd') cheese made out of sheep's or cow's milk. It is produced throughout southern Italy, particularly in the Apennine Mountains and in the Gargano peninsula. Shaped like a teardrop, it is similar in taste to the ...

, have a high reputation. Irpinia's

salami Salami ( ; : ''salame'') is a ''salume'' consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature fo ...

( Sopressata) and

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

s are popular, as are its

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

s, its

hazelnut The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus '' Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according to ...

s and the black

truffle A truffle is the Sporocarp (fungi), fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, one of the species of the genus ''Tuber (fungus), Tuber''. More than one hundred other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including ''Geopora'', ''P ...

s 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, a village and ski resort ...

. Tourist amenities are the ski resort Laceno, with a lake near Mount Terminio, and some villages. The most popular Irpinia's town is

, which lies on the top of three steep hills and is provided with ancient sights (a medieval castle and a romanic cathedral), some museums, majolica shops and traditional restaurants. Other noteworthy centers are

(with the ancient town

), Gesualdo (with the castle which was the home of the "prince of musicians"

Carlo Gesualdo Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (between 8 March 1566 and 30 March 1566 – 8 September 1613) was an Italian nobleman and composer. Though both the Prince of Venosa and Count of Conza, he is better known for writing madrigals and pieces of sacred ...

Rocca San Felice Rocca San Felice is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. Geography Located in the central area of Irpinia, the municipality borders with Frigento, Guardia Lombardi, Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi, Sturno and Villa ...

(Mefitis'site),

Calitri Calitri ( Irpino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy. Overview Calitri is in Campania near the borders of the regions of Apulia and Basilicata. It is approximately above sea level so on even on the hottest ...

(Castle village) and

Zungoli Zungoli is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy, about from the town of Avellino. Located in Irpinia historical district between the Ufita Valley and Daunian Mountains, Zungoli is awarded a quality mark ...

(a well-preserved medieval town). Among the religious sanctuaries there are Montevergine (

Mercogliano Mercogliano is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. Geography Mercogliano is a hill town located near the western suburb of Avellino and below the mount Partenio (or Montevergine). The municipality ...

), the Shrine of St. Gerard (

Caposele Caposele (Irpino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy. The town was seriously damaged by the 1980 Irpinia earthquake. It borders with Calabritto, Bagnoli Irpino, Lioni, Teora, Conza della Campania, Castelnuo ...

), the Sanctuary of Carpignano (

Grottaminarda Grottaminarda (Irpino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino (Campania), situated northeast of Naples, in the southwest of Italy. Grottaminarda is part of Roman Catholic Diocese of Ariano Irpino-Lacedonia and its territory bor ...

), and the (

); the latter is located near an ancient mill in a green valley, where in the Middle Age the Madonna showed up.

References

External links

Irpinia Stories: English language blog about Irpinia

Irpinia land

A tour in Irpinia: discovering the villages and typical foods
{{Authority control Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy Geography of Campania Province of Avellino

Geography

History

Traditional produce and tourist sites

See also

References

External links