Pietradefusi (; nap, 'A Preta, label= Irpino) is a comune 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 ...

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 ...

History

According to some scholars, Pietradefusi lies on the site of the ancient ''Fusolae'', a town cited by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

as an ally of

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

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 ...

, and which was later destroyed by the Romans. The origins of the town are medieval (cited first from 1298) and it was fiefdom of many noble families such as the De Souzi, the De Tocco and the Acquaviva, but was also governed a long time by the Santa Casa dell'Annunziata of Naples. The

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

s remember the town because one of their generals, Claudio of Aragona, was born here in the times of

Francesco Borgia Francis Borgia ( ca-valencia, Francesc de Borja; es, Francisco de Borja; 28 October 1510 – 30 September 1572) was a Spanish Jesuit priest. The great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI, he was Duke of Gandía and a grandee of Spain. After th ...

. Cardinal

Niccolò Coscia Niccolò Coscia (1681 – 8 February 1755) was an Italian Roman Catholic cardinal. He was born at Pietradefusi, near Avellino. In 1725 he was appointed as Cardinal of Santa Maria in Domnica by Pope Benedict XIII Pope Benedict XIII ( la, ...

was born here.

Main sights and cultural events

*The Medieval Tower, located in the highest point of the town, was built in 1431 by Giacomo de Tocco. Around the Tower around the first dwellings rose. *The church of ''Collegiata'' (1700). The facade is from 1596. Ruined during the

French occupation French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

in 1799, it was rebuilt in 1827. *The church of St. Paulus (1800) situated in the center of Dentecane. According to the tradition, the church of S. Apollinare and S. Spirito (no more existing) housed frescoes by

Giotto Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto ( , ) and Latinised as Giottus, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic/Proto-Renaissance period. Giot ...

. Pietradefusi hosts is a Cinema Festival in September. Cities and towns in Campania {{Campania-geo-stub