Provincia di Avellino (Avellino), Italy

Lista comuni della provincia di Avellino (A list of the comunities of the province of Avellino, region of Campania, Italy)

The Province of Avellino has an area of 2,792 sq km, and a total population of about 430,000 inhabitants, and is administratively divided into 119 Municipalities. In the ancient Kingdom of Naples the province roughly corresponded to the Principato Ultra, though some places were included in Capitanata or Principato Citra. It is an inner province, unconnected to the sea. The ancient name of the area was "Hirpinia", derived from the Oscan "hirpus", wolf, an animal that is still present in the territory though in greatly reduced numbers. The province has a great environmental interest and is included in the Regional Parks Monti Picentini and Partenio, and comprises two WWF oases, Valle della Caccia in Senerchia and the area around the Ofanto dam in Conza della Campania.
Typical products are hazelnuts (one third of the whole Italian production), the chestnut of Montella, the renowned wines il Taurasi, Greco and Fiano, cherries, cheeses such as the caciocavallo of Montella and the black truffle of Bagnoli Irpino.

The main tourist destinations are the Sanctuaries of Montevergine (over 300,000 visitor per year) and of San Gerardo a Maiella, the archeological areas of Avella and Eclano, the Lancellotti castle, the early Christian Basilica in Prata.

Today’s Avellino lies a short distance from the ancient Irpinian (Hirpinian) city of “Abellinum”. It played an important role right from the beginning, falling under the rule of byzantine, longobard, norman, swabian and angioino powers, becoming part of the Kingdom of Naples and finally, in 1861, the new Kingdom of Italy. These historical events have left their mark in layers on the city’s civil and religious monuments and are well represented in the Irpinian Museum’s Risorgimento section. 

Comuni of the Province of Avellino