Nusco (

Irpino The Irpinian dialect, or Irpino, is the dialect of Neapolitan language spoken in almost all of the comuni in the Province of Avellino in the Italian region of Campania. It differs from other varieties in certain phrases, pronunciation and the us ...

: ) 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 ...

'' in the

province of Avellino The Province of Avellino ( it, Provincia di 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 20,0 ...

(

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 ...

region) in the south of

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 ...

, east 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 ...

, with c. 4,100 inhabitants. It is situated in the mountains between the valleys of the

Calore Irpino The Calore Irpino or Calore Beneventano or Calore river is a river in southwestern Italy. It rises from ''Colle Finestra'' ( above sea level), a mountain saddle between Monte Acellica and the Terminio sub-group in the Monti Picentini, sub-range o ...

and

Ofanto The Ofanto (), known in ancient times as Aufidus or Canna, is a river in southern Italy that flows through the regions of Campania, Basilicata, and Apulia, into the Gulf of Manfredonia near Barletta. Geography The river's source is on the Irpi ...

Rivers.

History

Hannibal crossed this area during the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and i ...

. As the legend goes, some of Hannibal's elephants became ensconced in the mud of the river to the east. As his elephants drowned the General mourned the death of these great beasts. As such, the river that extends through this valley became known as, and remains, the Ofanto (a corruption of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

"elefante") River. The

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 and ...

built in Nusco a castle to defend the valley from the Ofanto river to the Calore one. It played a very important role between

Irpinia 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. Geography The territor ...

's people until the 17th century. In the 1656 a plague struck Irpinia killing up to a third of Nusco's population. In addition to its drastic effect on people, the plague irrevocably changed Nusco's social structure. It started to lose its economic power, and until the second half of the 20th century Nusco's history was strictly linked to the history of the Church. For years the town experienced the poverty and misery of rural towns. Vestiges of feudal relationships left the peasant farmers with little richness. In the late 19th century, families left Nusco for other, wealthier regions of Italy, as well as for new opportunities in South America and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. These emigrants from Nusco never forgot their roots. Some of them returned to their homeland. The earthquake in 1980 did not destroy the most ancient and important buildings.

Main sights

*The Lombard castle (c. 9th century) *The cathedral. The Renaissance portal (1548) was moved to the church of St. Anthony. *The Church of Saint Stephen, holding the remains of Saint

Amatus of Nusco Amatus of Nusco, in Italian Amato di Nusco (c. 1003–1093) was the first bishop of Nusco in Irpinia, southern Italy. The most likely account of him is that he was of noble birth, a native of the South of Italy, that he distributed all his wo ...

. *The Church of St. Anthony. It stands beneath the remains of the old castle, and just beyond the Superior Gate that allowed entrance into the eastern section of the medieval town.

Twin towns

Lanciano Lanciano (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Langiàne ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It has 36,304 inhabitants as of 2011. The town is known for the first recorded Catholic Eucharistic ...

, Italy * Vinci, Italy

People

Nicholas Laucella Nicholas Laucella (born Nicola Laucella; July 1, 1882 – September 2, 1952) was an American concert flautist and composer. During the course of a professional musical career which spanned over three decades, he performed as the principal flute ...

(1882-1952), Principal Flautist with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

and the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

Orchestra *

Ciriaco De Mita Luigi Ciriaco De Mita (; 2 February 1928 – 26 May 2022) was an Italian politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy from April 1988 to July 1989. A member of the Christian Democracy (DC), De Mita served as its secretary and leader from Ma ...

(1928-2022), Italian politician who served as

Prime Minister of Italy The Prime Minister of Italy, officially the President of the Council of Ministers ( it, link=no, Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is ...

from April 1988 to July 1989.

References

Sources and external links