Arienzo
Discovering Arienzo, the municipality of the Suessola Valley
Hello everyone! Today we will discover Arienzo, an Italian municipality located in the province of Caserta, in Campania. The town has 5,220 inhabitants and is situated in the beautiful Suessola Valley, a vast territory that also includes the municipalities of Santa Maria a Vico, San Felice a Cancello, and Cervino. Arienzo extends at the foot of the Tifata mountains and those of the Partenio Park, offering beautiful views of places like Naples, Caserta, and Benevento from its highest peaks. Let's discover together some details about this corner of paradise!
The physical geography of Arienzo
Arienzo spans on both sides of the ancient Via Appia, the famous historical route that crosses much of the Italian peninsula. The city is situated east of the Tifata mountains and the Partenio Park. The climate, just like many other municipalities in the Campanian plain, is typical of the Italian summer: very hot and humid. Winter, on the other hand, is moderately cold with rare snowfall.
The origin of the name Arienzo
The toponym Arienzo has several possible origins. It could derive from "Argentea" or "Argentia," the name given to the valley in relation to its fertility. Another supposition is that the name derives from the ancient fortress of Argentium on Mount Castello, which in turn could derive from the pagan vulgarization of Ara-Cyntiae. This was the place dedicated to the goddess Cynthia or Diana, where a temple was erected in her memory. According to a third theory, the name has roots in the Roman gentilic Argentius. Finally, it is also thought that Arienzo may derive from the name of an ancient Oscan city called Aruntia or Aruntium. The name Arienzo was coined from the 15th century onwards, while throughout the Middle Ages, the toponym used was Argentium.
The history of Arienzo
The history of Arienzo begins with the destruction of Suessola, the city located in the area, due to a fire during the war between the Lombards and Saracens. In the late 1800s, part of the Suessolans took refuge on Mount Argentarium, near a castle that was destroyed in 1135 by King Roger II of Altavilla. This fact led the populations to descend into the valley, where they built the first nucleus of the city of Arienzo, called Terra Murata, in 1154. Over the centuries, the city passed from one feudatory to another, including Mosca, Stendardo, Carafa, and Mataldo. In 1928, it was included in the Fusione di comuni italiani with the municipality of San Felice a Cancello, forming the municipality of Arienzo San Felice. In 1946, with the advent of the Republic, the municipality of Arienzo was reinstated.
The monuments and places of interest in Arienzo
Arienzo is a locality rich in archaeological sites and historic buildings that are worth visiting. One of the main points of interest is the Roman Villa (or Rest Station), from the 3rd and 1st centuries BC, discovered in 1961 near the fraction of Costa. It is only 300 meters from the Via Appia and is considered by many historians and writers as the "Augustus Temple or Villa Cocceio." It is an imposing Roman structure that still preserves retaining walls, rooms, corridors, tanks, columns, floors with mosaics, walls with graffiti and designs of circus life. The villa is also mentioned in the V satire of Book I by Quintus Horatius Flaccus at verses 50 and 51, where it tells of a journey from Rome to Brindisi made by Horace and Gaius Cilnius Maecenas to restore peace between Mark Antony and Augustus.
Conclusions
Here is a quick overview of Arienzo, a charming Italian municipality located in the Suessola Valley, in Campania. With its strategic location, fascinating history, and numerous places of interest, Arienzo is certainly a place to visit at least once in a lifetime. We hope we've made you want to discover it!
