Acerra

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Comune di Acerra
Coat of arms of Comune di Acerra
Municipal coat of arms
Country Flag of Italy Italy
Region Campania
Province Naples (NA)
Mayor
Elevation 26 m
Area 54.08 km²
Population
 - Total (as of 2005) 50,726
 - Density 821.02/km²
Time zone CET, UTC+1
Coordinates 40°57′N 14°22′E
Gentilic Acerrani
Dialing code 081
Postal code 80011
Frazioni Gaudello, Pezzalunga
Patron St. Cuomo and son
 - Day May 29
Website: www.comune.acerra.na.it
This article is about the city Acerra. For the Ancient Roman sacrificial incense box, see Acerra (incense box).

Acerra (Latin: Acerrae) is a municipality of Campania, Italy, in the Province of Naples, about 20 km (9 mi) northeast of the provincial capital in Naples.

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[edit] History

Acerra is one of the most ancient cities of the region, probably founded by the Osci with the name of Akeru). It was the first Roman city that was granted the status of civitas sine suffragio (332 BCE).

Acerra was destroyed by Hannibal in 216 BCE, but was restored in 210 BCE.

In July 2005 a statue of the Virgin Mary in St Peter's Church was said to move and take on a pink colour. [1]

[edit] Acerra today

Acerra has been in the spotlight recently in regards to the growing problem of the disposal and treatment of industrial and urban waste in the area. Acerra, Nano, and Marigliano had been identified as the three points of the so-called "Triangle of Death" in which illegal waste management by criminal orgnizations ("ecomafia") have resulted in environmental conditions endangering the health of the region's people.

In October 2000, the Italian Parliament approved the findings of a commission which studied activities in Campania by the Camorra group, which had been profitting from illegal waste management activities.

The scientific journal The Lancet Oncology published in 2004 a study by the Italian researcher Alfredo Mazza, a physiologist at the Italian CNR (Centro Nazionale per la Ricerca): this study revealed the terrbile situation in the countryside of Campania and the negative impact on the people's health. He demonstrated that the deaths by cancer are much higher than average in that region with respect the European average.

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[edit] External Links