Eboli ( Ebolitano: ) is a town and ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' of

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern 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 Islan ...

, southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, in the

province of Salerno The province of Salerno () is a province in the Campania region of Italy. It has 1,054,766 inhabitants as of 2025. Geography The largest towns in the province are: Salerno, the capital, which has a population of 131,950; Cava de' Tirreni, Bat ...

. Eboli, an agricultural centre, is renowned for its

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

and

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

products, most notably the famous

buffalo mozzarella Buffalo mozzarella (; ) is a mozzarella made from the milk of the Italian Mediterranean buffalo. It is a dairy product traditionally manufactured in Campania, especially in the provinces of Caserta and Salerno. Since 1996, is also registered a ...

from the area.

History

Archaeological excavations have shown that the Eboli area has been inhabited since the

Copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

s. Also attested (starting from the 5th century BC) was the presence of the so-called

Villanovan The Villanovan culture (–700 BCE), regarded as the earliest phase of the Etruscan civilization, was the earliest Iron Age culture of Italy. It directly followed the Bronze Age Proto-Villanovan culture which branched off from the Urnfield cultu ...

civilization. The ancient ''Eburum'' was a

Lucanian The Lucanians () were an Italic tribe living in Lucania, in what is now southern Italy, who spoke the Oscan language, a member of the Italic languages. Today, the inhabitants of the Basilicata region are still called Lucani, and so is their dial ...

city, mentioned by

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, not far away from the Campanian border. It laid above the Via Popilia, which followed the line taken by the modern railway. The Romans gave it the status of ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...

''. The town was destroyed first by

Alaric I Alaric I (; , 'ruler of all'; ; – 411 AD) was the first Germanic kingship, king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades earlier by a combine ...

in 410 AD, and then by the Saracens in the 9th and 10th centuries. Later it served as a stronghold of the

Principality of Salerno The Principality of Salerno () was a Middle Ages, medieval Mezzogiorno, 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 alle ...

, with a massive castle built by

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard ( , ; – 17 July 1085), also referred to as Robert de Hauteville, was a Normans, Norman adventurer remembered for his Norman conquest of southern Italy, conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century. Robert was born ...

. During the 1930s Eboli was able to expand into the plain after a project of land reclamation carried out by the Fascist government. It was severely damaged during the

1980 Irpinia earthquake The 1980 Irpinia earthquake () took place in Italy on 23 November 1980, with a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). It left at least 2,483 people dead, at least 7,700 injured, and 250,000 homeless. Eart ...

Geography

Eboli is located at the feet of Montedoro, a peripheral spur of the Monte Raione- Monte Ripalta group. Its territory, which is 90% plain, is formed by the

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a plain (an essentially flat landform) created by the deposition of sediment over a long period by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A ''floodplain'' is part of the process, bei ...

of the Sele river, which bounds it southwards. The remaining part comprises hills part of the

Monti Picentini image:Monti Picentini.jpg, 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 includ ...

Regional Park. Eboli borders with Albanella,

Battipaglia Battipaglia () is a municipality (''comune'') in the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of southern Italy. The town is renowned for its production of buffalo mozzarella and is one of the most productive agricultural centers in the Sele ...

Campagna Campagna (Italian: ) is a small town and ''comune'' of the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of Southern Italy. Its population is 17,148. Its old Latin name was Civitas Campaniae (City of Campagna). Campagna is located in one of the ...

Capaccio Capaccio is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Julius Capaccio (1552–1634), Italian humanist *Mike Capaccio Mike Capaccio (born December 17, 1957) is an American athletics administrator, currently serving as athletic directo ...

Olevano sul Tusciano Olevano sul Tusciano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. Main sights *Roman villa of S. Maria a Corte *Castrum Olibani, a Lombard castle. During the rule of Frederick of Hohenst ...

and Serre. Its hamlets (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'') are Campolongo, Cioffi, Corno d'oro, Fiocche,

Santa Cecilia Santa Cecilia (English: Saint Cecilia) may refer to: Places Brazil * Santa Cecília, Santa, Catarina, a city * Santa Cecília (district of São Paulo), a district of the city of São Paulo and a neighbourhood within the district * Santa Cecília ...

and Taverna Nova.

Main sights

The main attraction is the Colonna castle (11th century). Scanty remains of the ancient polygonal walls (4th century BC) can still be seen, as well as of a Roman imperial villa in the locality of Paterno. Eboli is also home to several 15th-16th century ''palazzi''. The sacristy of St. Francis contains two 14th century pictures, one by Roberto da Oderisio of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. Notable is the

Basilica of St. Peter Alli Marmi The Basilica of St. Peter Alli Marmi (Italian language, Italian: Badia di San Pietro Alli Marmi) is a Basilica comprising a church and a monastery. It is located in Eboli, 33 kilometers away from the city of Salerno, in Italy. Originally known ...

, (1076) located at the bottom of the hill of Montedoro, where the old medieval site of the city was situated.

Culture

A local saying, ''

Cristo si è fermato a Eboli ''Christ Stopped at Eboli'' () is a memoir by Carlo Levi, published in 1945, giving an account of his exile from 1935–1936 to Grassano and Aliano, remote towns in Southern Italy, in the region of Lucania which is known today as Basilicata. I ...

'' ('Christ stopped at Eboli'), was used by 20th-century writer

Carlo Levi Carlo Levi () (29 November 1902 – 4 January 1975) was an Italian painter, writer, activist, Independent Left (Italy), independent leftist politician, and doctor. He is best known for his book ''Christ Stopped at Eboli (novel), Cristo si è fe ...

as the title of a book, referring to the enduring poverty in

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

. Eboli was the location where the road and railway to Basilicata branched away from the coastal north–south routes. Secondary schools based in Eboli are: * Istituto di Istruzione Superiore "Perito-Levi" (

liceo classico The ''liceo classico'' or ''ginnasio'' () is the oldest public secondary education in Italy, secondary school type in Italy. Its educational curriculum spans over five years, when students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age. Until 196 ...

, liceo artistico, and liceo musicale e coreutico) *

Liceo scientifico ''Liceo scientifico'' (; ) is a type of secondary school in Italy. It is designed to give students the skills to progress to any university or higher educational institution.Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica 89/2010 - ''Regolamento di r ...

"A. Gallotta" * Istituto di Istruzione Superiore "Mattei-Fortunato" ( istituto tecnico, istituto professionale) * Liceo delle Scienze Umane Piaget (private)

Twin towns

Pastrana, Spain Pastrana is a municipality in the province of Guadalajara, Castilla–La Mancha, Spain. As of 1 January 2022, it had a registered population of 850. The municipality spans across a total area of 95.70 km2. Geography Belonging to the Alcarri ...

In media

There is a film based on the book (in English, ''Christ Stopped at Eboli'').

Notable people

* Vito Coppola, dancer on

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

. * Filippo Gibbone (1880–), bishop.

References

External links

Eboli official website

{{authority control Agrotowns Cities and towns in Campania Villanovan culture