Lauro
A friendly tour of Lauro, in Campania
Welcome to Lauro, an Italian municipality located in the province of Avellino. Here you will find plenty of nature and a rich history that has fascinated this territory since ancient times. Come with us to discover this beautiful place!
Physical Geography
Lauro is located in a forested valley surrounded by a chain of mountains, with some peaks exceeding one thousand meters. The position of the municipality is wedged between them and is located at an altitude varying between 138 and 847 meters above sea level. The area where the 3285 inhabitants live, instead, is located between 150 and 250 meters, with the town hall at 192 meters above sea level. Alongside the main road flows the Regio Lagno, an artificial channel for draining water from the surrounding mountains.
Origins of the Name
According to tradition, reported by Remondini in "Della nolana ecclesiastica storia," Lauro may have been founded by Hercules. After being in Pompeii and Herculaneum, Hercules arrived at a locality in this territory called Fregonia. He was greeted by the people with laurel branches, and in perpetual memory of this, Fregonia changed its name to Lauro.
History
The first evidence of Lauro dates back to Roman times, and the Lauretane cluster was fiercely contested for a long time due to its strategic location within the Lauro valley. During the Middle Ages and the Napoleonic era, Lauro was an important feudal lordship. It was a domain of the Duchy of Benevento and then of the Principality of Salerno and the Principality of Capua. In 1057 it was conquered by the Normans and then elevated to a county by Roger II of Sicily to be donated to Roberto Sanseverino around 1115. It remained under the dominion of the Sanseverino family until 1212, when it came into the possession of Frederick II of Swabia, who first donated it to Pietro di Sangermano and then to Giovanni di Lauro. In 1232, the county returned to the Sanseverino family and later belonged to many local princes and counts, until it reached the Orsini family, counts of Nola, who held it until Enrico Orsini's assets were confiscated for having taken part in the conspiracy of the Barons against Ferdinand I of Naples.
In 1632, Lauro was acquired by the Lancellotti marquises, who held it until the abolition of feudalism in 1806. In 1799, the entire town of Lauro emerged almost unscathed from the fire set by the French troops arriving in the Lauro valley to punish the population for its position towards the Neapolitan Republic (1799).
The history of Lauro also preserves the memory of Umberto Nobile, a full professor of Aeronautical Constructions at the University of Naples Federico II. Nobile was a general of the Italian Air Force (Engineering Corps) and a native designer of the municipality and author, in 1926 and 1928, of two extraordinary aeronautical enterprises at the North Pole, carried out aboard his own creation of airships.
Conclusions
Lauro is a fascinating municipality that offers a wide range of outdoor activities and a history rich in events. Here you can admire the beauty of nature and the grandeur of the mountains, along with the hospitality of the local community. Furthermore, the memory of Umberto Nobile and his aeronautical achievements make Lauro an even more special place. Come and visit Lauro and seize the opportunity to immerse yourself in its history and the beauty of nature.
