Marcianise is a town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...

'' in the province of Caserta,

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

, southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

History

In the area of the commune of Marcianise numerous tombs of Etruscan and Roman age have been excavated, although

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 ...

elements should have pre-existed. The origin of the today's city are uncertain. It was allegedly founded in the 6th century CE by bands of Ostrogoths after their defeat in the

Gothic War Gothic War may refer to: *Gothic War (248–253), battles and plundering carried out by the Goths and their allies in the Roman Empire. *Gothic War (367–369), a war of Thervingi against the Eastern Roman Empire in which the Goths retreated to Mont ...

. In 861 it was probably destroyed by the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia P ...

s along with

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...

. After the creation of the

Duchy of Capua The Principality of Capua ( la, italic=yes, Principatus Capuae or ''Capue'', it, italic=yes, Principato di Capua) was a Lombard state centred on Capua in Southern Italy, usually ''de facto'' independent, but under the varying suzerainty of Ho ...

, Marcianise followed the latter's history. The area was repeatedly struck by cholera but, according to a legend, the city was miraculously spared by the July 1706 plague through the intercession of the Holy Crucifix. Later the marshy area was dried, and extensive cultivation of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternativel ...

augmented the economy of the region.

Main sights

*The Baroque church of the ''Annunziata''. The interior has Neapolitan school frescoes. *The Cathedral of St. Michael Archangel houses an allegedly miraculous crucifix which, according to the legend, saved the city from cholera in the 18th century. *The Castle of Loriano (15th century) has maintained the towers, the walls and the interior church, while that in Ariola is now a private residence. Near Marcianise, was the mediumwave transmitter for the Naples area, which worked on 657 kHz. It was used as an antenna, tall, a guyed mast, radiator insulated, against the ground, the tallest radio tower on the Italian mainland. This antenna was recently removed.

Dialect

The dialect of Marcianise, although similar to Neapolitan, shows a long series of peculiar influences ranging from French and English to more ancient

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

and

. Examples of local exclusive words include ''ching'' for "tile" (Italian: ''tegola'') and ''cstunia'' for "turtle" (Italian: ''tartaruga'').

Economy

Marcianise is home to several craftsmanship firms working

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

and

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secre ...

, as well as numerous chemical, manufacture and chemical industries. Together with the territories of Maddaloni, Acerra, Caivano and Teverola, the commune forms the second most industrialized area of Italy.

Dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

and wine production is also flourishing.

Transportation

Marcianise has a station on the Caserta-Aversa-Naples railroad. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

there was an airfield nearby used by the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

: * No. 13 Squadron RAF * No. 18 Squadron RAF * No. 55 Squadron RAF * No. 92 Squadron RAF *

No. 114 Squadron RAF No. 114 Squadron was a squadron of the British Royal Air Force. It was first formed in India during the First World War, serving as a light bomber squadron during the Second World War and as a transport squadron post-war. It was last disbanded in ...

No. 145 Squadron RAF No. 145 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron that operated during World War I, World War II and the Cold War. History The Squadron formed on 15 May 1918. Equipped with Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 fighters, it supported the final offensives ...

No. 417 Squadron RAF 417 Combat Support Squadron (french: links=no, 417e Escadron de soutien au combat) is an Air Force unit with the Canadian Forces. Based at CFB Cold Lake it provides helicopter support to the base operations. Since 1994, it has also provided sear ...

* No. 600 Squadron RAF * No. 601 Squadron RAF * Air Headquarters Italy Communication Squadron RAF

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Cities and towns in Campania {{Campania-geo-stub