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
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 ...
in
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
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. It was the site of the defeat of
Spartacus
Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...
and is noted for the ruins of an ancient castle.
Geography
Senerchia mainly borders 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 ...
, and it is surrounded by the
Picentini Mountains
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 Latt ...
. Its main road links it to the town of
Quaglietta
Quaglietta is an Italian hamlet (''frazione'') situated in the municipality of Calabritto, Province of Avellino, Campania. As of 2011 its population was of 443.
History
Town's name origins, meaning in Italian "little quail", is debated. A differ ...
.
Senerchia borders the municipalities of
Acerno (SA),
Campagna (SA),
Oliveto Citra (SA),
Valva (SA) and
Calabritto, the only neighbouring municipality in the same province.
The village is located above sea level in the High Sele Valley, in a hilly area on the eastern side of the Picentini Mountains, at the foot of the steep slopes of
Mount Boschetiello
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
. The territory is composed of forests and mountains, including many peaks over above sea level, such as Mount Boschetiello at , Mount Croce at , Raia della Volpe at , Sierro dei Cuoppi at , Sierro della Pica at and Raia del Pastore at . The hilly terrain starts at and continues down the country on the
right bank
In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows.
In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...
of the river
Sele. The territory is full of springs and landslide soil. In addition to the Sele, which skirts the municipal area, other waterways include the Vallone Forma, Piceglia, Fiumicello Rovivo, Pozzo San Nicola and
Acquabianca.
Following the
Irpinia earthquake of 1980, Senerchia has undergone a radical urban transformation. The village was completely destroyed. The old part has been abandoned and dangerous buildings are clearly visible. There is now a green area where the main square and the church were destroyed by a landslide. New buildings have been built beside the old site, with new urbanization and wide streets.
History
Origins
Senerchia originated as a group of remote, pre-Roman settlements. The first settlement was positioned on the heights where the ruins of the castle currently stand, almost forming a fortified town. The ruins of the castle are located in the upper part of the old village, near the church of the town's patron saint,
Saint Michael the Archangel
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), a ...
. This hill, a spur of Mount Boschetiello, overlooks the High Sele Valley.
The name "Senerchia" is derived from "Sena Herclae," which means "Bosom of Hercules" in archaic Latin. The etymology of the word and the castle ruins may indicate that Senerchia was once strong and powerful. Some also say that, the name recalls the local Northern Tuscan names ''silerchia'' and ''silerchie'' which presuppose a "silercula" from the Latin ''Siler-eris'', meaning a plant that grows in places full of water.
Spartacus
The final battle that saw the defeat and death of
Spartacus
Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...
in 71 BC took place in the present-day territory of Senerchia, on a site on the right bank of the river Sele in an area that includes the border with Oliveto Citra up to Calabritto, near the village of Quaglietta. At the time of the battle this territory was part of
Lucania
Lucania was a historical region of Southern Italy. It was the land of the Lucani, an Oscan people. It extended from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the Gulf of Taranto.
It bordered with Samnium and Campania in the north, Apulia in the east, and Bruttiu ...
. There have been numerous recent finds of armour and swords dating back to the Roman Empire.
Spartacus and his army of slaves were marching toward
Apulia to set sail for
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
when
Crassus, who was at the head of a well-armed Roman army, attacked from behind. Spartacus, partially due to the weariness of his men, wanted to take the battle to the Romans. Spartacus killed his horse, saying that if he won he would have all the horses he wanted, but if he lost he would not be tempted to run away. Spartacus was at the front of the attack, where he died after first killing some Roman soldiers. Some detachments of his army fled and scattered over the surrounding mountains.
Sinerchia family
The Sinerchia family was mentioned in the
Catalogus Baronum
The ''Catalogus Baronum'' ("Catalogue of the Barons") is a collection of registers of the military obligations owed by the barons of the Kingdom of Sicily. The collection was compiled in 1322 under the Angevin dynasty. It contains three distinct ...
of 1150–1168.
Scipione Ammirato
Scipione Ammirato (October 7, 1531January 11, 1601) was an Italian historian and philosopher. He is now regarded as an important founding figure in the scholarly study of the history of philosophy. He is best known for his political treatise '' ...
(1531–1601) described Senerchia as "a castle in 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 all ...
of 160 hearths, which has given its name to the family that has owned it for over three hundred years", referring to the Sinerchia family whose history was so closely linked to the estate. The Sinerchias were an ancient noble family of Norman origin, derived from the
Filangieri
The Filangieri (Old Norman ''Fitz Anger'', Latin ''Filii Angerii'' meaning "sons of Angerio") were an Italo-Norman noble family with origins (c.1100) near Nocera in the Kingdom of Sicily, but they rose to prominence at Naples. Famous members inclu ...
. They took part in many feuds between
Campania
(man), it, Campana (woman)
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,
Basilicata, and
Apulia, and lived mainly between Senerchia and Naples until the fifteenth century. The Sinerchia, transplanted later to the
Basilicata region, were honored with the title of Count in the fifteenth century, and following the 1481
Conspiracy of the Barons assumed the surname of Scardaccione. Orlando Sinerchia Scardaccione, Count of Sant’Andrea, when he moved to
Potenza, together with his cousin Amelio, was deprived of his estates as a consequence of the Conspiracy of the Barons.
Castle
The castle of Senerchia, overlooking the High Sele Valley, had ancient origins. It may already have been the defensive garrison of
Irpini, and 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 ...
probably had to work hard to subdue it; hence the Latin name Sena Herclea (which means Bosom of
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the ...
). It was strengthened under the control of the
Byzantines in the final war against the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
. 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 an ...
changed the fortifications and made further extensions. In the
Angevin
Angevin or House of Anjou may refer to:
*County of Anjou or Duchy of Anjou, a historical county, and later Duchy, in France
**Angevin (language), the traditional langue d'oïl spoken in Anjou
**Counts and Dukes of Anjou
* House of Ingelger, a Frank ...
period of Senerchia, Nicholas was keeper in 1271, commissioned by
Charles I of Anjou. The keep, with only its west front still well preserved, is one of the few survivors of the ancient fortified complex.
References
{{authority control
Cities and towns in Campania