Eboli ( Ebolitano: ) 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 also ...

'' of

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of 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 Islands and the i ...

, 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 re ...

, in the

province of Salerno The Province of Salerno ( it, Provincia di Salerno) is a province in the Campania region of Italy. __TOC__ Geography The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Battipagli ...

. An agricultural centre, Eboli is known mainly for

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

and for its

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 ...

products, among which the famous buffalo mozzarella from the area.

History

Archaeological excavations have shown that the Eboli area has been inhabited since the

Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

s. Also attested (starting from the 5th century BC) was the presence of the so-called

Villanovan The Villanovan culture (c. 900–700 BC), regarded as the earliest phase of the Etruscan civilization, was the earliest Iron Age culture of Italy. It directly followed the Bronze Age Proto-Villanovan culture which branched off from the Urnfield ...

civilization. The ancient ''Eburum'' was a Lucanian city, mentioned by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

, not far away from the Campanian border. It laid above the

Via Popilia __NOTOC__ The Via Popilia is the name of two different ancient Roman roads begun in the consulship of Publius Popilius Laenas. One was in southern Italy and the other was in north-eastern Italy. Road in southern Italy The road in southern Italy ...

, which followed the line taken by the modern railway. The Romans gave it the status of ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...

''. The town was destroyed first by

Alaric I Alaric I (; got, 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃, , "ruler of all"; c. 370 – 410 AD) was the first king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades ...

in 410 AD, and then by the Saracens in the 9th and 10th centuries. Later it served as a stronghold of the

Principality of Salerno The Principality of Salerno ( la, Principatus Salerni) was a medieval Southern Italian state, formed in 851 out of the Principality of Benevento after a decade-long civil war. It was centred on the port city of Salerno. Although it owed alle ...

, with a massive castle built by

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calabri ...

. During the 1930s Eboli was able to expand into the plain after a project of land reclamation carried out by the Fascist government. It was severely damaged during the

1980 Irpinia earthquake The 1980 Irpinia earthquake ( it, Terremoto dell'Irpinia) took place in Italy on 23 November 1980, with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). It left at least 2,483 people dead, at least 7,700 injured, an ...

Geography

Eboli is located at the feet of Montedoro, a peripheral spur of the

Monte Raione Monte Raione is a mountain of Campania, 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 larg ...

- Monte Ripalta group. Its territory, which is 90% plain, is formed by the

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...

of the

Sele river The Sele is a river in southwestern Italy. Originating from the Monti Picentini in Caposele,Meaning "top of the Sele" it flows through the region of Campania, in the provinces of Salerno and Avellino. Its mouth is in the Gulf of Salerno, on the ...

, which bounds it southwards. The remaining part comprises hills part of the

Monti Picentini 300px, Rocky limestone landscape in the monti Picentini. The Monti Picentini is a mountain range and national park in southern Italy, part of the Apennines, traditionally part in the Campanian Apennines. They are included between the Monti Latta ...

Regional Park. Eboli borders with

Albanella Albanella is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It is located 51 kilometers from the city of Salerno. The town slogan is , which translates to "the land of the olive trees" in English. ...

Battipaglia Battipaglia () is a municipality (''comune'') in the province of Salerno, Campania, south-western Italy. Famed as a production place of buffalo mozzarella, Battipaglia is the economic hub of the Sele plain. History Formerly part of the ancien ...

Campagna Campagna (Italian: ) is a small town and ''comune'' of the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of Southern Italy. Its population is 17,148. Its old Latin name was Civitas Campaniae (City of Campagna). Campagna is located in one of the v ...

Capaccio Capaccio Paestum (formerly only Capaccio) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. The ruins of the ancient Greek city of Paestum lie within borders of the ''comune''. History Geograp ...

Olevano sul Tusciano Olevano sul Tusciano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. Main sights *Roman villa of S. Maria a Corte *Castrum Olibani, a Lombard castle. During the rule of Frederick of Hohens ...

and Serre. Its hamlets (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist era (1922–1943) as ...

'') are Campolongo, Cioffi, Corno d'oro, Fiocche,

Santa Cecilia Santa Cecilia is a municipality and town located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE INE, Ine or ine may refer to: Institutions * Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research ...

and Taverna Nova.

Main sights

The main attraction is the

Colonna The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and politica ...

castle (11th century). Scanty remains of the ancient polygonal walls (4th century BC) can still be seen, as well as of a Roman imperial villa in the locality of Paterno. Eboli is also home to several 15th-16th century ''palazzi''. The sacristy of St. Francis contains two 14th century pictures, one by Roberto da Oderisio of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. Also notable is the ''Badia'' (Abbey) of ''San Pietro alli Marmi'' (1076).

Culture

A local saying, '' Cristo si è fermato a Eboli'' ('Christ stopped at Eboli'), was used by 20th-century writer

Carlo Levi Carlo Levi () (29 November 1902 – 4 January 1975) was an Italian painter, writer, activist, communist, and doctor. He is best known for his book '' Cristo si è fermato a Eboli'' (''Christ Stopped at Eboli''), published in 1945, a memoir of h ...

as the title of a book, referring to the enduring poverty in

Basilicata it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

. Eboli was the location where the road and railway to Basilicata branched away from the coastal north–south routes. Secondary schools based in Eboli are: * Istituto di Istruzione Superiore "Perito-Levi" (

liceo classico Liceo classico or Ginnasio (literally ''classical lyceum'') is the oldest, public secondary school type in Italy. Its educational curriculum spans over five years, when students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age. Until 1969, this was ...

liceo artistico Liceo artistico (literally ''artistic lyceum'') is a type of secondary school in Italy. It is designed to give students the skills to progress to any university or higher educational institution, but specifically devoted to art related topics.Decr ...

, and

liceo musicale e coreutico Liceo musicale e coreutico (literally ''artistic lyceum'') is a type of secondary school in Italy. It is specifically devoted to music and dance related topics.Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 89/2010 - ''Regolamento di revisione dei licei' ...

) * Liceo scientifico "A. Gallotta" * Istituto di Istruzione Superiore "Mattei-Fortunato" (

istituto tecnico Secondary education in Italy lasts eight years and is divided in two stages: ''scuola secondaria di primo grado'' (lower secondary school), also known as ''scuola media'', corresponding to the ISCED 2011 Level 2, middle school and ''scuola secon ...

istituto professionale Secondary education in Italy lasts eight years and is divided in two stages: ''scuola secondaria di primo grado'' (lower secondary school), also known as ''scuola media'', corresponding to the ISCED 2011 Level 2, middle school and ''scuola secon ...

) *

Liceo delle Scienze Umane Liceo delle scienze umane (literally ''Human Sciences lyceum'') is a type of secondary school in Italy. It is designed to give students the skills to progress to any university or higher educational institution, but specifically devoted to human ...

Piaget (private)

Twin towns

Pastrana, Spain Pastrana is a medieval town and municipality in the province of Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha, Spain, southeast of the provincial capital, Guadalajara. It is notable as the site of the imprisonment of the one-eyed Princess of Éboli by Phi ...

In media

There is a film based on the book (in English, ''Christ Stopped at Eboli'').

Notable people

* Filippo Gibbone (1880–), bishop.

References

External links

Eboli official website

{{authority control Cities and towns in Campania Villanovan culture