Taurano
Encyclopedia
Taurano is a village and comune
in the province of Avellino
, in the Campania
region of southern Italy
.
, Monteforte Irpino
, Moschiano
, Pago del Vallo di Lauro
and Visciano
.
oppidum
, destroyed by Romans under Sulla during the Social War
. It later became a summer resort, and two Roman villas have been found from this period, one in Torre and one in San Giovanni in Palco.
In the Middle Ages it was part of the Feud of Lauro. Villagers throughout the valley sought refuge in the mountains during the barbarian invasions. Under the administrative reforms of Joachim Murat
(King of Naples
1808-15), Taurano and the rest of the Lauro Valley became part of the province of Terra di Lavoro
.
In the 19th century Taurano offered shelter to brigands such as Fra Diavolo
, and anti-Bourbon conspirators such as Father Angelo Peluso. After unification, Taurano become an autonomous Commune except for a brief interruption.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the province of Avellino
Province of Avellino
The Province of Avellino is a province in the Campania region of Italy. The area is typified by many small towns and villages scattered across the province; in fact only two towns have a population over 20,000; its capital city Avellino and Ariano Irpino....
, in the Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
region of southern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Geography
The town lies in the Lauro Valley. It is bordered by LauroLauro
Lauro is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy....
, Monteforte Irpino
Monteforte Irpino
Monteforte Irpino is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy....
, Moschiano
Moschiano
Moschiano is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy....
, Pago del Vallo di Lauro
Pago del Vallo di Lauro
Pago del Vallo di Lauro is a town and comune in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy....
and Visciano
Visciano
Visciano is a comune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 30 km northeast of Naples. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 4,607 and an area of 10.9 km²....
.
History
Bronze Age remains have been found in the area of Taurano, whose name derives from Latin, either the surname Taurus or the gentilic Taurius. It was a SamniteSamnium
Samnium is a Latin exonym for a region of south or south and central Italy in Roman times. The name survives in Italian today, but today's territory comprising it is only a small portion of what it once was. The populations of Samnium were called Samnites by the Romans...
oppidum
Oppidum
Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...
, destroyed by Romans under Sulla during the Social War
Social War
The Allied War was a war waged from 91 to 88 BC between the Roman Republic and several of the other cities in Italy, which prior to the war had been Roman allies for centuries.-Origins:The Early Italian campaigns saw the Roman conquest of Italy...
. It later became a summer resort, and two Roman villas have been found from this period, one in Torre and one in San Giovanni in Palco.
In the Middle Ages it was part of the Feud of Lauro. Villagers throughout the valley sought refuge in the mountains during the barbarian invasions. Under the administrative reforms of Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
(King of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
1808-15), Taurano and the rest of the Lauro Valley became part of the province of Terra di Lavoro
Terra di Lavoro
Terra di Lavoro is the name of a historical region of southern Italy. It corresponds roughy to the modern southern Lazio and northern Campania regions of Italy....
.
In the 19th century Taurano offered shelter to brigands such as Fra Diavolo
Fra Diavolo
Fra Diavolo , is the popular name given to Michele Pezza, a famous Neapolitan guerrilla leader who resisted the French occupation of Naples, proving an “inspirational practicioner of popular insurrection”. Pezza figures prominently in folk lore and fiction...
, and anti-Bourbon conspirators such as Father Angelo Peluso. After unification, Taurano become an autonomous Commune except for a brief interruption.