Taurasi

With its centuries-old history that is innervated among the lush hills where the ruby ​​shoots of the most prestigious vines of Irpinia intertwine, Taurasi is one of the most beautiful Lombard villages in the Valle del Calore Inhabited since ancient times, Taurasi owes its toponym to the Osco-Sabellic tribes devoted to the bull and the spatial arrangement of its village to the Lombards who conquered these territories between the eighth and ninth centuries. With the Norman domination, the Cast read more

With its centuries-old history that is innervated among the lush hills where the ruby ​​shoots of the most prestigious vines of Irpinia intertwine, Taurasi is one of the most beautiful Lombard villages in the Valle del Calore Inhabited since ancient times, Taurasi owes its toponym to the Osco-Sabellic tribes devoted to the bull and the spatial arrangement of its village to the Lombards who conquered these territories between the eighth and ninth centuries. With the Norman domination, the Castle was rebuilt and became a Marchionale palace in the period of the barony in which the village reached its maximum splendor thanks to the most important noble families who arrived in Irpinia such as the Gesualdo, the Caracciolo and the Carafa. Today the building that overlooks the main street of the town is owned by the Municipality and after major restoration interventions, since 2006 it has housed the Regional Enoteca for Irpinia Wines complete with cellars and stables where the Tau Sensory Path has been set up. which accompanies the visitor to discover not only the red Taurasi, but also the other two DOCGs of the province such as Fiano di Avellino and Greco di Tufo. One of the most fascinating places of the Marchionale Castle is the "Prince's Room", the "Gabriele D'Isola" room which, in 1566, was the birthplace of Carlo Gesualdo, prince of musicians and one of the most important madrigalists of the sixteenth century. Italian and European. Partly hidden by the Marchionale Castle, climbing along the large granones that cross a stone portal, you enter the so-called Cathedral of San Marciano, a religious building most likely from the 7th century AD on the ruins of an ancient pagan temple. The Collegiate Church dedicated to the Patron Saint Marcian, although not a bishopric, is considered by all to be the Cathedral of Taurasi. After the invasion of the Saracens and the reconstructions carried out over the centuries, today it has a Baroque style facade where inside there are hair and niches dedicated to the patron saint, to Sant'Anna, Sant'Antonio da Padova and San Gerardo Maiella. read less

Origin of name: The etymology of the name seems to have Osco-Sabellic origin, with reference to the bull, a mythical animal and leader of the local tribes. The inhabitants are called Taurasini and San Marciano is their patron.

The history of Taurasi is particularly ancient: its prehistoric origin is attested by archaeological finds in the San Martino area. During the third Samnite war, it was conquered by the Roman legate Lucio Cornelio Scipione Barbato; following the Punic wars, it became an ally of Rome and, during the Augustan triumvirate, began the construction of the first villas. The construction of today's Taurasi, on the other hand, dates back to the period of Lombard domination, followed by that of the Norma read more

The history of Taurasi is particularly ancient: its prehistoric origin is attested by archaeological finds in the San Martino area. During the third Samnite war, it was conquered by the Roman legate Lucio Cornelio Scipione Barbato; following the Punic wars, it became an ally of Rome and, during the Augustan triumvirate, began the construction of the first villas. The construction of today's Taurasi, on the other hand, dates back to the period of Lombard domination, followed by that of the Normans. To the latter, we owe the rebuilding of the Castle, previously devastated by the Saracens, and its assignment, in 1101, to the Sanseverinos, a family with which the Taurasian community experienced glorious moments in its most prestigious period. Then, numerous feudal lords took turns, including the Caracciolos and the Gesualdos. During the seventeenth century, it was the turn of the Carafa and, therefore, of the Latilla who remained until 1806, the year of the abolition of feudalism. Ancient age Some archaeological finds in the San Martino district attest to settlements as early as the Neolithic; the toponym, however, is of Osco-Sabellic origin, with clear reference to the bull. In Roman times the territory of the present Taurasi must have been in the orbit of Aeculanum. In the epitaph engraved on the sarcophagus of the Roman legate Lucio Cornelio Scipione Barbato (who fought in the third Samnite war of 298 BC) the conquest of Taurasia Cisauna nel Sannio is mentioned, however it is to be excluded that this ancient city corresponded to the current Taurasi; its territory (Ager Taurasinus) extended instead to the north-east of the Roman colony of Benevento, near the current Circello, in the area where the Ligurians Bebiani would later settle (in 180 BC). [4] Middle Ages The first document in which the Taurasi vine is mentioned dates back to November 1179, the period in which the first houses were built. The creation of today's Taurasi, almost on the same site, took place with the arrival of the Lombards. In 883, and between 900-910, the center suffered a series of destructions by the Saracens. With the arrival of the Normans, the "Castelli Taurase" was rebuilt and assigned, in 1101, to Trogisio di Taurasi, of the Sanseverino lineage. In this period the barony of Taurasi reaches its maximum prestige and importance, arriving from the gates of Benevento and Avellino up to the territory of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi. Modern age Passed for a long period from baron to baron, so as to become a possession of the Lautrec, and then of the Caracciolos, the fiefdom returned to the hands of the Gesualdo. According to some documents, Carlo Gesualdo was born in Taurasi in 1566. He particularly dedicated himself to the reconstruction and renovation of the city. Taurasi, was progressively embellished with new and splendid buildings. The madrigalist prince, known not only for having set to music various texts by Torquato Tasso, for having slaughtered his wife Maria d'Avalos, surprised together with his lover Fabrizio Carafa, loved Taurasi so much that he even gave him a thought in his will. During the 17th century, more than half of the inhabitants of Taurasi were decimated by the plague epidemic that swept Italy. Then came the Carafa d'Aragona and, from 1726, the Latilla. After the parenthesis of the Neapolitan Republic, during which the tree of freedom was also planted in Taurasi, the Latilla family returned to Taurasi and remained there until the abolition of feudalism. In 1809 there was the official birth of the municipality of Taurasi, which was administratively aggregated to the district of Mirabella within the district of Ariano, within the province of Principato Ultra. In 1860 Taurasi was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy and aggregated to the district of Mirabella, within the district of Ariano di Puglia, within the province of Avellino. read less