Taurasi

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Taurasi
Location of Taurasi
Taurasi
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Taurasi
Location of Taurasi in Italy
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Taurasi
Taurasi (Campania)
Coordinates: 41°0′N14°57′E / 41.000°N 14.950°E / 41.000; 14.950
Country Italy
Region Campania
Province Avellino (AV)
Government
  MayorSalvatore De Rosa
Area
[1]
  Total14.41 km2 (5.56 sq mi)
Elevation
384 m (1,260 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2017) [2]
  Total2,316
  Density160/km2 (420/sq mi)
Demonym Taurasini
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
  Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
83030
Dialing code 0827
Patron saintSt. Marcian
Website Official website

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 (not to be confused with the Taurasia founded in northern Italy by the Taurini, which is now called Turin) before changing to its current form. Taurasi is best known for its increasingly famous red wine also named Taurasi, made of Aglianico grapes along with Piedirosso and Barbera grapes.

Contents

History

According to the epitaph on the sarcophagus of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus, consul of Rome in 3 BC, he captured Taurasia (and Cisauna) from the Samnites. [3] However, modern scholars have ruled out that ancient Taurasia (surely located north-east of Beneventum ) could be related to modern Taurasi. [4]

Main sights

Wines

The town was centred on by a Longobard castle which was enlarged by the Normans. Taurasi is a centre of production of the red wine Taurasi DOCG. It is a full-bodied dry wine with an aromatic vein. The wine must be aged for three years, of which one must be in chestnut or oak casks. In the three succeeding years, the wine can be tasted in the fullness of its quality and is particularly good as an accompaniment to roasted red meats.

The variety of grapes it is made from, Aglianico, is believed to have been introduced by Hellenic peoples around the time of the foundation of Cumae. It is found in virtually the whole of southern Italy but the wines produced from it are considerably different, depending on the places where the vines grow. Aglianico has a medium-sized cluster of grapes which is cylindrical-conical in shape.

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Taurasi and Taurasi riserva are red, still Italian wines based principally on the Aglianico grape variety produced in the province of Avellino in the Campania region. They were awarded denominazione di origine controllata (DOC) status in 1970 and denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) status in 1993. Produced less than 40 miles (64 km) from the other Aglianico stronghold of Aglianico del Vulture in Basilicata, the volcanic soils of the Taurasi region demonstrate the potential the Aglianico grape has to make wines on par with the Nebbiolo grape of Piedmont and Sangiovese grape of Tuscany. The popularity of the region's wine is a relatively recent phenomenon. Until the early 1990s, there was only one winery (Mastroberardino), producing wine for the export market. By the mid-2000s, there were over 293 producers in the Taurausi zone.

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References

  1. "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. Beard 2015, p. 134.
  4. Edward Togo Salmon, Julie Andrew (1967). Samnium and the Samnites. Cambridge University Press. p. 261. ISBN   9780521061858.

Cited sources