Aquilonia is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' in the

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 ...

, part of 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 to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

region of southern

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 Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is situated in mountainous terrain in the eastern part of the province, at an elevation of .

History

The

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

called the town Carbonara or Carunar, supposedly because a major local occupation was

charcoal Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, ca ...

making. In 1861, after the unification of Italy, the town was renamed ''Aquilonia'' based on a 16th-century assumption that this was the site of the Battle of Aquilonia between the

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and 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 ...

. On 23 July 1930 a major earthquake destroyed the town, and it was rebuilt at a higher location nearby.

Geography

Located in the eastern side of the province, close to

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

, Aquilonia borders with the municipalities of Bisaccia, Calitri, Lacedonia, Melfi,

Monteverde Monteverde is the twelfth Cantons of Costa Rica, canton of the Puntarenas Province, Puntarenas Provinces of Costa Rica, province of Costa Rica, located in the Cordillera de Tilarán (Tilarán range). Roughly a four-hour drive from the Costa Rica ...

and

Rionero in Vulture Rionero in Vulture () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is located on the slopes of Monte Vulture in the northern part of the region. The village was founded and historically inh ...

Twin towns — sister cities

Aquilonia is twinned with: *

Cambiano Cambiano () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin. Cambiano borders the following municipalities: Pino Torinese, Chieri, Pecetto Torinese, Moncalie ...

, Italy * Caramagna Piemonte, Italy * Montclair, USA

References

External links

Aquilonia official website
Roman sites of Campania Cities and towns in Campania Former populated places in Italy {{Campania-geo-stub