In a panoramic position, which on clear days opens up a wide horizon (Monte Vulture, Matese, Partenio, Taburno, Terminio, Formicoso, San Vito, Molara and Cervialto), at the watershed between the Ufita and Cervaro basins, on the hills of Castello, Calvario and San Bartolomeo, Ariano Irpino, known as the "City of the Tricolle", has always been an important crossroads between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas and between the Apennines and Puglia.
The territory of Ariano Irpino was already inhabited read more
In a panoramic position, which on clear days opens up a wide horizon (Monte Vulture, Matese, Partenio, Taburno, Terminio, Formicoso, San Vito, Molara and Cervialto), at the watershed between the Ufita and Cervaro basins, on the hills of Castello, Calvario and San Bartolomeo, Ariano Irpino, known as the "City of the Tricolle", has always been an important crossroads between the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas and between the Apennines and Puglia.
The territory of Ariano Irpino was already inhabited in prehistoric times, as demonstrated by the remains of a village of huts found in the Starza area, on a hill exhausted by the extraction of gypsum, along the Strada Statale 90 bis, which leads from Benevento to Foggia. In the prehistoric site of Starza, the excavations carried out have outlined a stratification that starting from the Neolithic, 5th millennium BC. (remains of a village of huts), reaches up to the 6th-5th century BC, even if the best documentation is related to the Middle Bronze Age (17th-16th century BC). Furthermore, the finds of lithic and ceramic artefacts, exhibited in the Irpino Museum of Avellino and in the Archaeological Museum of Ariano, housed in Palazzo Anzani, demonstrate the frequentation of the site even in later times, up to the Iron Age. In the locality of S. Eleuterio, eight kilometres north-east of Ariano Irpino, are the Hirpine ruins, 6th century BC, Roman and medieval of Aequum Tuticum (or also Equus Tuticus or Equotuticus), a city, whose first mention is due to Cicero, located along the Via Appia Traiana, at the crossroads with the Via Herculia. The archaeological excavations have brought to light the remains of a thermal building and of houses and Latin inscriptions from the imperial age, of a late-ancient villa and a medieval settlement. The archaeological finds can be admired at the Archaeological Museum of Ariano Irpino. Aequum Tuticum gradually lost importance, until it ended up in oblivion following the barbarian invasions. The bitter wars between the Goths, Byzantines and Lombards (who erected the Cross seen in the image on the left), induced the locals to abandon the site to find refuge on the three surrounding hills (Calvario, Castello and S. Bartolomeo), giving rise to the current town, therefore known as "The City of the Tricolle". The history of Ariano was marred by dramatic events, such as dramatic earthquakes (981, 988, 1449, 1456, 1732) and plagues (1416, 1493, 1656). The 10th century marked the affirmation of Lombard rule, but the period of maximum splendor was under the Normans (1042), with Ariano at the center of a vast County that included a good part of Sannio and Irpinia. From the 11th century, Ariano was the seat of a bishopric. In 1140, Roger II the Norman, King of the Two Sicilies, gathered the first general parliament of the Normans in Ariano and discussed his intentions at the assembly, which included the highest personalities and bishops of the Kingdom. Furthermore, the first laws of the Norman Kingdom were promulgated here during the "Assises of Ariano", including an edict that contemplated pecuniary and capital punishment for any subject who accepted the ancient currency, called romesina, or spent it in the markets. In its place, a new currency was introduced, the "Ducato", which was legal tender until 1860. Then came the sieges of the emperor Henry (1187) and that of the Saracens recruited by Manfred of Swabia (1255). They devastated and sacked Ariano because it had welcomed the army sent against Manfred by Pope Innocent IV. The reconstruction is due to Charles of Anjou, who gave Ariano two thorns from the crown of Jesus, received from St. Louis, King of France. Charles I donated Ariano to the French count Henry de Vaudemont, then to the de Sabrans (whose members included St. Elziario and the blessed Delfina, two of the four Patrons of Ariano). Then it was the turn of Francesco Sforza, the future Duke of Milan, the Guevaras, De Rohans, Carafas and Gonzagas and the Loffredos. In 1585 Ariano redeemed itself from the feudal regime of the Loffredo family by paying 75,150 ducats. In 1647 Ariano was besieged and sacked by Neapolitan troops during the anti-Spanish insurrection, due to its loyalty to Spain and from 1662 it depended directly on the Viceroy of the Kingdom of Naples, as a royal city. In 1738 the Ariano people, oppressed by unbearable taxes, revolted and armed themselves, but were defeated by the royal troops, who captured and killed the leaders of the insurgents. During the 18th century Ariano, in addition to being an active agricultural and commercial center, was the first town in Irpinia in terms of population. The Ariano patriots took part in the Carbonari uprisings of 1820-21. On September 4, 1860 Ariano was the protagonist of a reactionary movement. After the unification of Italy, Ariano and the surrounding areas were subject to the phenomenon of brigandage. Surrounded by the gardens of the municipal villa, from which you can enjoy a beautiful view, the castle of Ariano Irpino is the historical-architectural element characterizing the historic center of Ariano Irpino. Here the Lombards built a military garrison in a strategic position and with impervious access, but it was the Normans, between the 11th and 12th centuries, who significantly improved the structure, which was further perfected by the Angevins and the Aragonese. However, the Norman matrix has remained well impressed, given that the castle has the typical quadrangular shape, with sides of different sizes, with four cylindrical corner towers, connected to each other by corridors created between the large and high walls. In 1819 the castle hosted an "optical telegraph" that communicated with Montemiletto and Panni. Another historical-architectural element that characterizes the city of the tricolle is the cathedral of the Vergine Assunta, built in Romanesque style in the 11th century, on the ruins of a pagan temple anciently dedicated to the God Apollo. Over the centuries it has undergone several renovations, having been destroyed or seriously damaged by seismic or human events. Razed to the ground by the Saracens sent by Manfred of Swabia (1255), it was first rebuilt under Charles of Anjou, then in 1456. On the sixteenth-century façade are depicted two of the city's patron saints, St. Otto and St. Elziario. The Romanesque gabled façade, built during the sixteenth century, using blocks of green sandstone from Roseto, has three portals. The rose windows are a later addition. On the outside, the cathedral is raised above street level, to which it is connected by an artistic staircase. On the inside, the current architectural structure, in Baroque style with a Latin cross, is due to the renovation following the disastrous earthquake of 1732, which devastated it. It was rebuilt again around 1836. Inside, the church has three naves and houses many works of art. To the left of the entrance door of the Cathedral of the Assumption, there is immediately the stone baptismal font of the 16th century, dating back to 1585. A little further on, still on the same left side, there is a baptismal basin from 1070, on which there is a Latin inscription translated as follows:
"THIS SACRED FOUNTAIN HERE FOR THE PRACTICE OF BAPTISM TO THIS SACRED HALL HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED
II. BISHOP MAINARDO BORN IN POITIERS DESCENDING FROM ILLUSTRIOUS PARENTS, BROUGHT IT FROM THE CHURCH OF THE MOST HONOURABLE MARTYR HERMOLAUS, HELPING HIM WITH THE PITYING EFFORT OF NOBLE CITIZENS
WHO, SUBMITTING THEIR NECKS UNDER THE YOKES ALMOST LIKE OXEN, DRAGGED THIS FOUNTAIN UNDER THE LOVE OF OUR (PROTECTOR) MARY IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 1070"
In the middle of the structure, there is a beautiful marble pulpit from 1615, which features a series of bas-reliefs describing the life of Jesus, believed to be from the Benevento school and attributed to Federico Fiorelli. In the background, there is the 17th-century wooden choir, on which there are paintings by Saveno Persico from the 18th century, depicting the Apostles and the Assumption. At the end of the right nave of the cathedral is the chapel dedicated to St. Otto. Furthermore, in the Cathedral Treasury, now the Silver Museum, there are other works, including the silver monstrance by Vannini, the reliquary containing the Holy Thorns from the crown of Christ, donated by Charles I of Anjou to the Bishop of Ariano, and the forearm of St. Otto covered in silver. read less
