Pontelandolfo is an Italian 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 Sannio Hills in the

province of Benevento The Province of Benevento ( it, Provincia di Benevento) is a province in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Benevento. Geography The province has an area of 2,071 km2, and, , a total population of 279,308. There are 78 ...

, approximately halfway between

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 ...

and

Campobasso Campobasso (, ; nap, label= Campobassan, Cambuàsce ) is a city and ''comune'' in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Molise and of the province of Campobasso. It is located in the high basin of the Biferno river, surrounded by Sann ...

Geography

Pontelandolfo is located on a mountainous area 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 ...

. The area that surrounds Pontelandolfo has a wide range of

altitudes Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

(400-1,017 meters), with the center of population situated at 525 meters. There are three prominent mountains that surround Pontelandolfo. These include Mount Calvello, which has an

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

of 1,017 meters, Toppo Mangialardo (917 m) and Mount Forgioso (850 m).

History

The name of the village comes from the legendary ''Pontis Landulphi'', or the ''Bridge of

Landolfo Landulf or Landulph, Italian ''Landolfo'' and Latin ''Landolfus'', ''Landulphus'', etc., is a masculine given name of Germanic (possibly Lombardic) origin. It may refer to: * Landulf I of Benevento * Landulf II of Benevento *Landulf III of Benevento ...

'', named after a soldier who died defending the bridge against the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

while the villagers fled to safety, an event memorialized in the village's crest. The bridge is believed to have spanned the Alenta Creek, whose source is 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 ...

. A. Iamalio, P. Federico, G. Ardia: ''La Regina del Sannio''.

, 1918, pg. 226. According to local ancient folklore, the regional surname Guerrera derived from the Latin spelling Gverrera meaning warrior or man of war, is said to have origins dating back to the soldier who died defending the bridge against the Romans. The Guerrera clan for centuries inhabited the fertile lands south of the Alenta Creek stretching between

San Lupo San Lupo is the name of a hill town and ''comune'' in the province of Benevento, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is a member of the Titerno "Local Action Group". The town is located 60 km from the A1 highway, exit at Caserta, ...

and Pontelandolfo centred in and around the current village of Giallonardo. Pontelandolfo is mostly remembered as the location, along with

Casalduni Casalduni is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 60 km northeast of Naples and about 15 km northwest of Benevento, on the slopes of Monte Cicco on the right of the Tamma ...

, of a massacre of largely civilian population by the

Piedmontese Piedmontese (; autonym: or , in it, piemontese) is a language spoken by some 2,000,000 people mostly in Piedmont, northwestern region of Italy. Although considered by most linguists a separate language, in Italy it is often mistakenly regard ...

occupation troops in 1861. Casalduni - Monumento in memoria delle vittime del massacro di Pontelandolfo e Casalduni (1861)

Many villagers emigrated to 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 ...

, with a large community settling in and around

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...

, where they founded the Pontelandolfo Community Club. A large number also moved to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, specifically to the city of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. A significant number also emigrated to Australia in the period post World War 2 to the early 1970s and settled predominantly on Sydney's North Shore and Eastern Suburbs area, and whose family surnames include: Guerrera; Orsini; Mucciacciaro; Rubbo; and Mancini. A small number also settled in and around Melbourne. The early Australian emigrants worked in the Queensland sugar cane fields before moving to Sydney where they settled and were later joined by their extended families.

Main sights

*Medieval tower (12th century) *Church of ''Annunziata Antica'' (15th century) *Chapel of ''San Rocco'' (17th-18th centuries)

Economy

Much of the surrounding area of Pontelandolfo (14.91 km²) is used for

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

thanks to the fertility of the ground, which was already well known by the ancient Greeks. The primary use of the land is for

olive-tree The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' 'M ...

orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

pastures Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swine ...

and for the culture of

cereals A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food en ...

Twin towns

Pontelandolfo is twinned with: *

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 202 ...

, USA

References

External links

Official website

Pontelandolfo News
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