Irpinia (Modern Latin Hirpinia) is a geographical and cultural region of Southern Italy. It was the inland territory of the ancient Hirpini tribe, and its extent matches approximately today's province of Avellino.
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Irpinia (Modern Latin Hirpinia) is a geographical and cultural region of Southern Italy. It was the inland territory of the ancient Hirpini tribe, and its extent matches approximately today's province of Avellino.
The territory is largely mountainous, with an intricate network of hills and valleys and a predominantly limestone Karst topography. To the north-east, however, the rocks are mostly sandstone, and the land's elevation is relatively lower. Irpinia is centred on the section of the Apennines which spans from the northern Sella di Ariano to the springs of the Sele River; 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 (1,809 m). Irpinia is bordered on the east by the Ofanto valley, while to the north it merges with Sannio and Daunia.
The name "Irpinia" derives from the Oscan word "hirpus", which means wolf, and the wolf remains Irpinia's symbol to this day. Oscan tribes of the Sabines, under demographic pressure, migrated towards this area in the 6th century BC from what is now Umbria. The Hirpini occupied the region Sabato, Calore, Cervaro and Ofanto, becoming differentiated with time from the Samnites who settled the area from Molise and Matese. The main centres of the Hirpini were Maloenton (modern Benevento), Aeclanum (Mirabella Eclano), Aequum Tuticum (Ariano Irpino), Vescellium (near Roseto Valfortore), Trivicum (Trevico), Compsa (Conza), Aquilonia (Lacedonia), and Abellinum (Atripalda).
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 (342 BC). Their name is found in sources from 280 BC, when the Greek general Pyrrhus of Epirus 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, 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. Caius Marius gave them Roman citizenship in 87 BC, but they were deprived of any privilege under the former's victor, Sulla (80 BC).
Some Roman roads passed through Hirpini's territory: Via Appia, Via Aemilia , Via Traiana, Via Herculia and few other ones.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Irpinia came successively under Byzantine, Lombard, Hohenstaufen, Anjou, Aragonese and finally Spanish domination. As part of the Kingdom of Naples 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 in 1861.
The district has been subject to a number of strong earthquakes. On November 23, 1980, the 6.9 Mw earthquake affected the area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing 2,483–4,900, and injuring 7,700–8,934.
Irpinia has a proud tradition of producing wines such as Fiano di Avellino, Greco di Tufo and Taurasi, all of which are classified as DOCG. Its cheeses, including scamorza and caciocavallo, have a high reputation. Irpinia's salami (Sopressata) and sausages are popular, as are its chestnuts, its hazelnuts and the black truffles of Bagnoli Irpino.
Tourist amenities are the ski resort Laceno, with a lake near Mount Terminio, and some villages. The most popular Irpinia's town is Ariano Irpino, 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 Mirabella Eclano (with the ancient town Aeclanum), Gesualdo (with the castle which was the home of the "prince of musicians" Carlo Gesualdo), Rocca San Felice (Mefitis'site), Calitri (Castle village) and Zungoli (a well preserved Medieval town).
Among the religious sanctuaries there are Montevergine (Mercogliano), the Shrine of St. Gerard (Caposele), the Sanctuary of Carpignano (Grottaminarda), and the Sanctuary of Valleluogo (Ariano Irpino); the latter is located near an ancient mill in a green valley, where in the Middle Age the Madonna showed up.
Aeclanum was an ancient town of Samnium, Southern Italy, about 25 km east-southeast of Beneventum, on the Via Appia. It lies in Passo di Mirabella, near the modern Mirabella Eclano.
Benevento is a city and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 metres above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and the Sabato. In 2020, Benevento has 58,418 inhabitants. It is also the seat of a Catholic archbishop.
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 47 kilometres (29 mi) east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento.
The Province of Avellino is a province in the Campania region of Southern Italy. 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 and Ariano Irpino.
Savignano Irpino is a village and comune in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region of southern Italy.
Ariano Irpino 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 and the province, with Avellino itself being the largest. Located 270 kilometres (170 mi) east-southeast of Rome, the comune was granted the official status of Città ("City") by a presidential decree of 1952, October 26.
The Hirpini 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 extensive sense of that name, roughly the area now known as Irpinia from their name—a mountainous region bordering on Basilicata towards the south, on Apulia to the east, and on Campania towards the west. No marked natural boundary separated them from these neighboring nations, but they occupied the lofty masses and groups of the central Apennines, while the plains on each side, and the lower ranges that bounded them, belonged to their more fortunate neighbors. The mountain basin formed by the three tributaries of the Vulturnus —the Tamarus, Calor, and Sabatus, which, with their valleys, unite near Beneventum, surrounded on all sides by lofty and rugged ranges of mountains—is the center and heart of their territory. They occupied the Daunian Mountains to the north, while its more southern portion comprised the upper valley of the Aufidus and the lofty group of mountains where that river takes its rise.
Grottaminarda is a town and comune in the province of Avellino (Campania), situated 80 kilometres (50 mi) northeast of Naples, in the southwest of Italy.
Bonito is a comune in the Province of Avellino, in the Region of Campania, Italy. Located in the southern Apennines upon a rounded knoll, it overlooks the Ufita Valley within the historical district of Irpinia.
Nusco is a town and comune in the province of Avellino in the south of Italy, east of Naples, with c. 4,100 inhabitants. It is situated in the mountains between the valleys of the Calore Irpino and Ofanto Rivers.
Lioni is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy.
Conza della Campania is a comune (municipality) and former Latin Catholic (arch)bishopric in the province of Avellino in the region of Campania in southern Italy.
Guardia Lombardi, known as La Uàrdia in the Irpinian dialect, is a small town and comune in the Province of Avellino in Campania, Italy. At an elevation of 998 metres (3,274 ft), it is located in Irpinia in the Apennine Mountains of Southern Italy. It has experienced a number of major earthquakes throughout its history that have devastated the town, and is considered within zone 1 of the Protezione Civile's seismic classification index, indicating very high seismicity.
Melito Irpino is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region of south-western Italy.
Mirabella Eclano is an Italian town and comune of the province of Avellino, in the Southern Italian Campania region. As of 2011 its population was of 7,904.
Rocca San Felice is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy.
Apice is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 70 km northeast of Naples and about 13 km east of Benevento.
Carpignano is a southern Italian village and hamlet (frazione) of Grottaminarda, a municipality in the province of Avellino, Campania. In 2011 it had a population of 219.
Aequum Tuticum was a Roman vicus in southern Italy, about 35 km east-northeast of Beneventum. The site lies beside Saint Eleuterio hamlet, overlooking Miscano Valley at an elevation of 575 m, about 15 km north of the modern Ariano Irpino, within Irpinia historical district. The vicus name is partly Latin and partly Oscan.
The 1732 Irpinia earthquake was a seismic event with a magnitude of 6.6 that affected Irpinia and part of Sannio. It occurred on 29 November 1732 at 8:40 AM local time (UTC+1). The epicenter was located in the Campanian Apennines, in the area of the Ufita Valley, which is part of the modern-day Province of Avellino. Around twenty populated areas were destroyed entirely or in part and tens of others were significantly damaged. The number of deaths was estimated to be 1,940. Damage from the earthquake was classified as "severe", and the number of homes destroyed as classified as "many". The earthquake had a rating on the modified Mercalli intensity scale of X (extreme).
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