Abellinum, From Ancient Settlement to Modern Avellino

Abellinum was an ancient settlement in the Campania region. Its name derives from the Indo-European root ab(e)l, meaning "apple fruit," as the area was abundant with apple orchards.
The settlement’s strategic geographic position, connecting the Adriatic Sea to the Tyrrhenian Sea, encouraged the establishment of early communities in antiquity. Additionally, the region was rich in small watercourses, and the land was highly fertile due to its volcanic origins. However, over time, it was often covered by ash from multiple eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. These eruptions buried and destroyed many settlements, as evidenced by archaeological remains. The most violent and catastrophic eruption was the Plinian eruption approximately 3,800 years ago, known as the Avellino pumice eruption, classified as a Plinian event. It takes its name from Pliny the Younger (c. 61-114 CE), who was the first to describe such phenomena. The most famous eruption occurred in 79 CE, burying Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum in ash. This type of eruption typically causes partial or, in extreme cases, total destruction of the volcano, with a massive column of ash, lapilli, and gas (an eruptive column) rising 20-30 kilometers into the atmosphere. When the gas propulsion subsides, the ash and lapilli fall, creating devastating pyroclastic flows.

Thousands of footprints in the surge ash deposit of the Avellino eruption (3460 BP ca.-(+/-65 yrs, carbon-dated)) testify to an en masse exodus from the devastated zone. Mount Somma is a mountain relief, part of the volcanic complex called Somma-Vesuvio.

Originally, Abellinum had a different name and was not located where modern Avellino stands today. It began as a settlement of the Hirpini, one of the four tribes (the Abellinati) that made up the Samnite people. Their name derived from the Oscan word hirpus (meaning "wolf") because, according to a legend referenced by Sextus Pompeius Festus in De verborum significatione, a wolf originally guided the Hirpini to the lands they would eventually inhabit.
The village was located on the hill where Atripalda is today, about 4 km from the center of Avellino. It was at the heart of the territory of the Sabatini, a Sabine people documented by Livy. It was likely called Velecha, as evidenced by numerous coins. Archaeological findings, dating back to at least the 4th century BCE, indicate the presence of the Samnites, Etruscans, and Oscans (known as Oskoi in Greek, an ancient Italic population of pre-Roman Campania).

Samnium Hirpinum

After several uprisings and local resistance during the Samnite Wars, the territory was permanently subdued by Rome in 265 BCE. However, the establishment of a true Roman city occurred only after the conquest by Lucius Cornelius Sulla during the civil wars, almost two centuries later.
In 216 BCE, Abellinum rebelled after the Battle of Cannae. It was recaptured by Consul Quintus Fulvius Flaccus and later sided with Sulla. Destroyed by Gaius Marius, the general Sulla rebuilt it further south as Venerea Abellinatium (ca. 82 BCE), on the left bank of the Sabato River. The new city was enclosed by a strong wall system with an organized urban layout, divided into quarters by orthogonal roads. The Cardo and Decumanus, typical Roman urban elements, divided it into four quarters, each leading to four external gates.

Abellinum

The Roman city grew significantly during the Augustan age. In 7 CE, Octavian Augustus included it in Regio II Apulia et Calabria, as trade was conducted along the Via Appia, and renamed it Livia Augusta in honor of his wife, Livia Drusilla, who held territories between Abellinum and Aeclanum. The Serino Aqueduct was built, bringing water from the river’s sources to Bacoli, where a large reservoir, the Piscina Mirabilis, supplied the Roman fleet after serving the main cities of Campania.

Route of the Via Appia, a part of the way emerged from an archaeological excavation and Livia Drusilla.
In the 3rd century, Emperor Alexander Severus expanded the colony considerably, giving it the title Livia Augusta Alexandrina and promoting mass immigration of Eastern settlers. This influx helped spread ancient Levantine cults like Sol Invictus in the region. The 3rd and 4th centuries saw Abellinum affected by economic crises and severe earthquakes (346 CE).

A sacrificial altar originally placed in the forum of the Roman city of Abellinum, this piece is crafted from Greek marble and consists of a circular body entirely decorated with a figurative frieze set between two cornices. The focal point of the decoration is a sacrificial scene framed by two groups of figures, one on the right and the other on the left. There are two main interpretations of this scene and the dating of the altar. According to the first interpretation, the central scene depicts Emperor Tiberius, the capite velato (head covered) figure, performing a sacrifice to his father, Augustus, who is shown as a togate figure standing opposite him. In this case, the altar would be dated to the 1st century CE (Julio-Claudian period). The second interpretation offers a different identification of the figures and dates the artifact to the late Republican period (1st century BCE). In this reading, the togate figure standing on a pedestal represents a statue of Octavian, while the opposing figure on a base is a statue of Caesar, portrayed in a heroic pose. The figure performing the sacrifice, with his head covered, is identified as a freedman of the gens Liuineia, a family originally from Abellinum with ties to Caesar, and may have been the one who commissioned the altar.

In the 5th century, Abellinum became an episcopal see, and in 472 CE, it suffered from devastating volcanic eruptions. The 6th century saw invasions during the Byzantine-Gothic War (535-555 CE) and the infiltration of the Lombards, who, from Easter 568 CE, pushed the inhabitants out of Abellinum’s walls, leading them to settle a few kilometers away in what is now Avellino.
Around the 8th century, it was conquered by the Lombard dukes of Benevento, who established it as a gastaldato (an administrative division governed by a royal court official). Destroyed by Otto I (912-973 CE), it soon revived, and from the early 12th to the 16th centuries, it was contested by counts and princes.
Between 1581 and 1806, Avellino was the fief of the Caracciolo family, during which the city experienced demographic growth, urban expansion, and economic progress. During the early years of their rule, the Caracciolo family expanded the castle, turning it into a center for poets and travelers. In the 18th century, the city began to assume its current urban form as the Caracciolo princes abandoned the castle for a new residence, the Caracciolo Palace (now the provincial administration headquarters), and initiated the development of the city's main street. The renowned artist and sculptor Cosimo Fanzago created many splendid works during this period.
In 1820, Avellino became a center of revolutionary uprisings and a starting point for the movement for a Constitution. However, Italian unification about fifty years later did not benefit the city, as it was excluded from the main railway line between Naples, Benevento, and Foggia.
In 1943, the city was bombed by Allied aircraft in an attempt to cut off the German retreat.

Royal Air Force- Italy, the Balkans and South-east Europe, 1942-1945. Vertical aerial photograph showing bombs from aircraft of the Tactical Bomber Force exploding in the town of Avellino, near Naples, before its capture by troops of the American 5th Army.

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Last update: November 6, 2024

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