I have been researching the history of Campania Italy for over ten years as this is one of the two regions that my family comes from. Both of my father’s parents are from Naples, and I have traced my grandmother’s family back centuries.  I’ve been their once and hope to go back again soon.  Both of my grand mother’s families are listed in the Nobilita Napolitana.  The Caracciolo’s and Piromallo’s lived on or near Via Carbonara and the Sorrentino’s live on Vico Luongo.  You can search the family names in this blog for more information.

One Ancestral home of the Caracciolo family is now the Hotel Caracciolo in Naples, and I understand that the Villa Piromallo on Ischia is still partly owned by someone in the family.

Read about my Campagna Roots

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History of Campania Italy

Originally inhabited by the Ausoni (or Aurunci) and Opici, In the 8th century BC the region was colonized by the Greeks who founded the city of Cuma. In the 6th century BC the Etruscans established around Capua a federation of twelve towns, which fought and defeated the Greeks in 524 and 474 BC. Then in the 5th century BC both Capua and Cuma were conquered by the warlike Samnites.

Between 343 and 290 BC three wars were fought between Samnites and Romans, who finally occupied the region. Rich Roman families built villas and gardens in the beautiful Neapolitan Gulf, until the ominous Vesuvius eruption in 89 AD covered in lava the Roman cities of Pompei and Ercolanus.

After the fall of the roman Empire Campania was alternatively under the Goths and the Byzanthines, then it was conquered by the Lombards in 570 AD who established here the Dukedom of Benevento, while Amalfi became a rich independent sea trade center. In 1139 the region was conquered by the Normans, then became part of the Kingdom of Sicily under the Anjou (13th century) and Aragonese (15th century). The Spaniards (1503-1707) were followed by the Austrians (1707 to 1734) until Charles VII Bourbon (1734) became King of Naples.

After the unity to Italy in 1860 there arose serious economic problems, among them a tragical cholera epidemic in 1884, events which started a massive exodus of the population to the North of Italy and abroad. During WW2 the Allied Anglo-American forces landed in the region on 9 September 1943 and the bombings that followed, as well as the destruction caused by the retreating German army, caused innumerable victims among the population.

From Enchanting Italy 

History of Campania Italy Geography

Campania, regione,southern Italy, on the Tyrrhenian Seabetween the Garigliano (Lower Liri) River (north) and the Gulf of Policastro (south). The region comprises the provinces of Avellino, Benevento, Caserta, Napoli, and Salerno. Campania is mountainous and hilly, the Neapolitan Apennines in the extreme east giving way to the slightly lower uplands of the Matese and Picentini mountains, with the Cilento mountain area extending to the coast in the south. The coastal lowlands north of Naples (the Volturno River basin and the Terra di Lavoro) and south of Salerno (the plain of the lower Sele River) are separated from each other by the volcanic regions around the Bay of Naples—the Campi Flegrei and Mount Vesuvius—and by the Lattari Mountains, which stretch inland from the Sorrento peninsula. The only rivers of any size are the Volturno and the Sele with their tributaries. Among the intermontane basins, Benevento is the most important.

Ancient Campania, although its boundaries were extended several times, was smaller than the present region, remaining limited to the area between the Volturno (ancient Volturnus) and the Sorrento peninsula. Early settled by Greek colonists and by the Etruscans, the region was dominated by the city of Capua (modern Santa Maria Capua Vetere) after its foundation in the 6th century bc. Campani, the Roman name for the inhabitants of Capua and later those of the Campanian plain, is actually pre-Roman and appears with terminations (suffixes) inscribed in Oscan (an ancient Italic dialect) on coins struck for or by the Samnites, the conquerors of Campania in the late 5th century bc. Samnite Capua became the ally of Rome about 340 bc, and the whole region was Romanized by the end of the 4th century and later flourished as a coloniaand then a region of the Roman Empire. Cumae, Nola, and Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli) were important ancient centres. After the fall of Rome, Campania was occupied successively by the Goths, Byzantines, and Lombards. Conquered by the Normans in the 11th century and incorporated in the kingdom of Sicily in the 12th century, it became part of the Kingdom of Naples after the Wars of Sicilian Vespers against the French in 1282. Campania was united with Italy in 1860.

The major farming areas of Campania are the fertile coastal lowlands, particularly those of the Terra di Lavoro and the plains around Vesuvius. The land utilization in these areas is intensive and is characterized by interculture, with plots of land producing cereals on the ground, fruit on the trees along the edges of the plots, and grapes from vines trailing between the trees. The chief crops are fruit (apricots, apples, peaches, nuts, citrus, and grapes), early vegetables, and flowers and such industrial crops as tobacco and hemp. Campanian wines are famous throughout Italy. Fishing is important in the Bay of Naples, Procida and Torre del Greco being the leading ports. Campania is the only region of southern Italy with a major concentration of industry, most of it centred on Naples, the regional capital, and some around Salerno. Metallurgy, chemicals, machinery and tools, textiles, agricultural industries (canning, flour milling, macaroni, tobacco), and shipbuilding are the main branches. Naples and its suburbs have a flourishing artisan industry working coral, pearls, tortoiseshell, leather, and lace. The tourist trade in Naples, on the Sorrento peninsula, and on the islands of Capri and Ischia is a major source of income. Naples is a leading Italian port and is also the regional transportation centre. Internal coastal communications in the region are relatively easy, but the highly dissected character of the interior made road and rail travel “across the grain,” in the west-east direction, difficult until the construction of the expressway Autostrada del Sole. Area 5,249 square miles (13,595 square km). Pop. (2006 est.) 5,790,929.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.

Citation Information

Article Title:Campania

Website Name:Encyclopaedia Britannica

Publisher:Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Date Published:09 February 2018

https://www.britannica.com/place/Campania-region-Italy

Access Date:May 16, 2019

Me trying to get into the Sorrentino club August 1996.  I tried to explain that I was a Sorrentino and just wanted a quick photo in side.  The waiter pointed to a table of men wearing fedoras and smoking big cigars.  Ok I get it!

Loved the food, loved the people, dodged the traffic.

The man asked, “Are you going to the beach”?  Yeah.  “Take the elevator”.  OK.  I think it was something like $17 US for the tourista’s

Campania Gallery June 2022

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Not my video, but very nicely done.

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