Nusco

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nusco is a town and commune in the province of Avellino (Campania region) in the south of Italy, east of Naples. It is situated in the mountains between the valleys of the Calore and Ofanto Rivers.

[edit] People

Inhabitants at the 2005 census: 4900.

[edit] History

Hannibal crossed this area during the Punic Wars. As the legend goes, some of Hannibal's elephants became ensconced in the mud of the river to the east. As his elephants drowned the General mourned the death of these great beasts. As such, the river that extends through this valley became known as, and remains, the Ofanto (a corruption of Italian "elefante") River.

The Lombards built in Nusco a castle to defend the valley from the Ofanto river to the Calore one. It played a very important role between Irpinia’s people until the XVII century. In the 1656 a plague struck Irpinia killing up to a third of Nusco’s population. In addition to its drastic effect on people, the plague irrevocably changed Nusco’s social structure. It started to lose its economic power, and until the second half of the XX century Nusco’s history is strictly linked to the history of the Church.

For years the town experienced the poverty and misery of rural towns. Vestiges of feudal relationships left the peasant farmers with little richness. In the late 19th century, families left Nusco for other, wealthier regions of Italy, as well as for new opportunities in South America and the United States. These emigrants from Nusco never forgot their roots. Some of them returned to their homeland.

The earthquake in 1980 did not destroyed the most ancient and important buildings.

[edit] Main sights

The Church of Saint Stephan, holding the remains of St. Amato.
The Church of St. Anthony. It stands beneath the remains of the old castle, and just beyond the Superior Gate that allowed entrance into the eastern section of the medieval town.