The Province of Avellino ( it, Provincia di Avellino) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

in the

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 of

Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

. The area is characterized by numerous small towns and villages scattered across the province; only two towns have a population over 20,000: its capital city

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

(in the west) and

Ariano Irpino Ariano Irpino (formerly Ariano di Puglia or simply Ariano) is an Italian city and municipality in the province of Avellino, in the Campania region. With a population of 22,535 (2017), it is the second-largest settlement of the Irpinia district an ...

(in the north).

Geography

It has an area of and a total population of 401,028 per 30.9.2021. There are 118 ''

comuni 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, with the main towns being

and

. See Comuni of the Province of Avellino. It is an inner province, with no connection to the sea.

History

The ancient inhabitants of the area were the

Hirpini The Hirpini (Latin: ') were an ancient Samnite tribe of Southern Italy. While generally regarded as having been Samnites, sometimes they are treated as a distinct and independent nation. They inhabited the southern portion of Samnium, in the more ...

, whose name stems from the

Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including th ...

term ''hirpus'' ("wolf"), an animal that is still present in the territory, though in greatly reduced numbers. In the province of Avellino there are many archaeological Roman sites, with

Aeclanum Aeclanum (also spelled Aeculanum, it, Eclano, grc, Ἀικούλανον) was an ancient town of Samnium, Southern Italy, about 25 km east-southeast of Beneventum, on the Via Appia. It lies in Passo di Mirabella, near the modern Mirabell ...

being the most important. In the Middle Age, the was the first political body established in 1022 by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

in the South of Italy, and there

Roger II Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became Duke of Apulia and Calabria in ...

(crowned King of Sicily in the Cathedral of Avellino in 1130) promulgated in 1140 the

Assizes of Ariano The Assizes of Ariano were a series of laws for the Kingdom of Sicily promulgated in the summer of 1140 at Ariano, near Benevento, by Roger II of Sicily. Having recently pacified the peninsula, constantly in revolt, he had decided to make a mov ...

, the first legislative code of the Kingdom. In the medieval

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

(later

Kingdom of Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and all ...

) the provincial area roughly corresponded to the ''Principato Ultra'', though some places were included in ''Capitanata'' or ''Principato Citra''. The modern province was established in 1860, after the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...

Main sights

Tourist destinations are the Sanctuaries of Montevergine, San Gerardo Maiella of Caposele and San Francesco a Folloni; the ski resort of

Laceno Laceno is an Italian hamlet (''frazione'') and ski resort situated in the municipality of Bagnoli Irpino, Province of Avellino, Campania. It includes a Ski Resort (with 18 km of ski Slopes) with artificial snow if required, a lake with food ar ...

; the and the

Cathedral Church A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral ...

, the archeological areas of Avella and

, the Lancellotti castle in

Lauro Lauro is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. It is located in lower Irpinia, in a woody valley. Sights include the remains of a 1st-century BC Roman ''thermae In ancient Rome, (fro ...

, the medieval town of Gesualdo, the Roman ruins of

Abellinum Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

and the early Christian basilica in Prata. The Selachoidei National Gallery at Avellino houses one of the largest collections of cartilaginous fishes in the country, whereas the City Museum and Ceramics Gallery at Ariano Irpino shows a print room with a great display of typical . Natural attractions include the Monti Piacentini and Partenio Regional Parks, together with two WWF sites, Valle della Caccia in

Senerchia Senerchia (Sinerchia in the local dialect) is an Italian municipality with 1370 registered voters, but only 1036 inhabitants, in the Province of Avellino, located in the upper valley of the Sele River in Campania. It was the site of the defeat o ...

and the area around the Ofanto dam in

Conza della Campania Conza della Campania (or Conza di Campania; formerly called Compsa, commonly known as Conza (Campanian: )) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and former Latin Catholic (arch)bishopric in the province of Avellino in the region of Campania in souther ...

Cuisine

Typical products are

hazelnuts The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according ...

(one third of the whole Italian production), the

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

Montella Montella is an Italian town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Avellino, Campania, with a population of 7,699. The zone was inhabited already in the neolithic period. The town was founded by the Samnites in the 1st millennium BC ...

, the renowned wines Aglianico,

Taurasi Taurasi is a town and municipality in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy. In antiquity it was a town in Samnium. The town's name probably derives from the Latin ''Taurus''. Over time it changed from ''Taurasos'' to ''Taurasia ...

Greco di Tufo Greco is an Italian wine grape that may be of Greek origin. The name relates to both white ''(Greco bianco)'' and black ''(Greco nero)'' grape varieties. While there is more land area dedicated to ''Greco nero'', the ''Greco bianco'' is the gra ...

and Fiano di Avellino, cherries, cheeses (as the caciocavallo of Montella), the black truffle of

Bagnoli Irpino Bagnoli Irpino is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy. The bordering municipalities of Bagnoli are Acerno, Calabritto, Caposele, Lioni, Montella and Nusco. The only ''frazione'' is Laceno Laceno is an Italia ...

, the olive oil of

References

External links