Telese Terme, called simply Telese until 1991,
/ref> is a city, ''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 ...
'' (municipality) and former episcopal seat 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 ...
, 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
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 ...
. It is located in the valley of the Calore, well known for its sulfur
Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...
ic hot spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
s.
Etymology
Telesia is an old word for the gem Sapphire
Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sapphir ...
.
History
Telese was an ancient Samnite (Italic) city, known as T(h)elesia. The city was captured by Hannibal
Hannibal (; xpu, š¤š¤š¤š¤š¤, ''įø¤annibaŹæl''; 247 ā 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 ...
in 217 BCE; later, the victor Roman general Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235ā183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military com ...
founded a Roman colony there.
In 460 was established a Diocese of Telese
The Italian Catholic Diocese of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant'Agata de' Goti ( la, Dioecesis Cerretana-Thelesina-Sanctae Agathae Gothorum), in Campania, Italy, has existed since 1986, when the Diocese of Sant'Agata de' Goti was suppressed, and its ...
/ Thelesina (Latin adjective).
Having fallen into decay after the Gothic War it was conquered by the Longobards
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 ...
, becoming part of the Lombard Duchy of Benevento
The Duchy of Benevento (after 774, Principality of Benevento) was the southernmost Lombard duchy in the Italian Peninsula that was centred on Benevento, a city in Southern Italy. Lombard dukes ruled Benevento from 571 to 1077, when it was conq ...
as seat of a gastaldry
A gastald (Latin ''gastaldus'' or ''castaldus''; Italian ''gastaldo'' or ''guastaldo'') was a Lombard official in charge of some portion of the royal demesne (a gastaldate, ''gastaldia'' or ''castaldia'') with civil, martial, and judicial powers. ...
(district).
The city was destroyed in the years 847 and 860, by the Saracens, and again in the 11th century, during the war between King Roger II of Sicily
Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 ā 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily
Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''Ų±ŁŲ¬Ų§Ų±'', ''RujÄr''; Maltese: ''RuĔĔieru'', ā 22 June 1101), nicknamed Rog ...
and the Norman counts of the southern Italian mainland.
A new Telesia was built; however, it was again pulverized in 1349, this time by an earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
.
Its former cathedral ''cattedrale Santa Croce'', dedicated to the Holy Cross, now in ruins, was decommissioned after the bishops transferred their see to nearby Cerreto Sannita
Cerreto Sannita (; nap, label=Campanian, CerrƬte ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 60 km northeast of Naples and about 25 km northwest of Benevento.
Cerreto San ...
, yet the see retained the alternative title Diocese of Telese as well, even after a further merger into the Diocese of Cerreto SannitaāTeleseāSantāAgata deā Goti
The Italian Catholic Diocese of Cerreto Sannita-Telese-Sant'Agata de' Goti ( la, Dioecesis Cerretana-Thelesina-Sanctae Agathae Gothorum), in Campania, Italy, has existed since 1986, when the Diocese of Sant'Agata de' Goti was suppressed, and it ...
.
In 1883, after the Unification of Italy
The unification of Italy ( it, UnitĆ 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 ...
, thermal bath
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...
s were built, hence the current full name Telese ''Terme'' since 1991. Telese became an independent commune in 1934.
Main sights
It possesses remains of walls in , of a total length of over a mile; two inscriptions of the Republican period record the erection of towers. The remains of baths () and of an amphitheatre still exist; the city was supplied with water by an aqueduct. There are sulphur springs in the vicinity, which may have supplied the baths.
See also
* List of Catholic dioceses in Italy
The following is the List of the Catholic dioceses in Italy. , the Catholic Church in Italy is divided into sixteen ecclesiastical regions. While they are similar to the 20 civil regions of the Italian state, there are some differences. Most eccl ...
References
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