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Battipaglia
Battipaglia (pronounced [ˌbattiˈpaʎʎa]) is a municipality (comune) in the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of southern Italy.
The town is renowned for its production of buffalo mozzarella and is one of the most productive agricultural centers in the Sele Plain. It also serves as the area’s main industrial and railway hub.
Historically, Battipaglia was colonized by both the Greeks and the Romans, along with the nearby town of Eboli. During World War II, it suffered repeated Allied air raids as part of Operation Avalanche. In the postwar period, Battipaglia experienced rapid demographic, agricultural, and industrial growth.
Formerly part of the ancient Greek colonies of the Magna Graecia, the municipal area was home to strategic Roman settlements during the late Republican-early Imperial times, as was typical of much of the southern Tyrrhenian coast. Archaeological excavations have brought to light several finds dating back to as early as the 3rd century BC pertaining to at least two villas. One of those was located in the vicinity of the coastline and was part of a larger thermal complex. The other was positioned further inland and likely served as a productive zone linking cereal fields in the plain to olive groves and vineyards in the hills.
The town was first mentioned by its modern name in a 1080 document of the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria addressed to the local Catholic diocese. It is generally believed that the name Battipaglia is formed by the union of batti (to thresh) and paglia (straw), owing to the activity of peasants in the past. However, some scholars have hypothesized that the name could have originated from Baptipalla, indicating a place devoted to Voltumna, a chthonic Etruscan deity.
The township of Battipaglia was officially established by Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies in 1858, as the Bourbon authorities designated the place as the site of an agricultural colony to house families who had survived the 1857 Basilicata earthquake. It was eventually granted the status of independent municipality by a Royal Decree on 28 March 1929 (during the Mussolini Cabinet), comprising parts of the territories which had been previously included in the nearby towns of Eboli and Montecorvino Rovella.
In 1943, during World War II, the town suffered heavy bombing by the Allied air forces, resulting in 117 civilian casualties. Although most of the town had been razed to the ground, in the aftermath of the conflict Battipaglia was to be rebuilt remarkably quickly, even attracting migrants from the hinterland seeking work. The town thus experienced an outstanding increase in population between 1951 and 1960, turning into a dynamic industrial area. In 1953, Battipaglia went under the media spotlight as its socialist mayor, Lorenzo Rago, was kidnapped never to be found again.
In 1969, due to the scheduled shutdown of two large sugar and tobacco processing factories – both employing a significant number of locals – thousands of Battipagliesi carried out widespread riots, which subsided a few days later following the Italian government's commitment to keep both operational. The few but intense days of social unrest – which took place in the context of a wider protest movement by students and workers in Italy and several other Western countries – eventually resulted in two fatalities.
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Battipaglia
Battipaglia (pronounced [ˌbattiˈpaʎʎa]) is a municipality (comune) in the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of southern Italy.
The town is renowned for its production of buffalo mozzarella and is one of the most productive agricultural centers in the Sele Plain. It also serves as the area’s main industrial and railway hub.
Historically, Battipaglia was colonized by both the Greeks and the Romans, along with the nearby town of Eboli. During World War II, it suffered repeated Allied air raids as part of Operation Avalanche. In the postwar period, Battipaglia experienced rapid demographic, agricultural, and industrial growth.
Formerly part of the ancient Greek colonies of the Magna Graecia, the municipal area was home to strategic Roman settlements during the late Republican-early Imperial times, as was typical of much of the southern Tyrrhenian coast. Archaeological excavations have brought to light several finds dating back to as early as the 3rd century BC pertaining to at least two villas. One of those was located in the vicinity of the coastline and was part of a larger thermal complex. The other was positioned further inland and likely served as a productive zone linking cereal fields in the plain to olive groves and vineyards in the hills.
The town was first mentioned by its modern name in a 1080 document of the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria addressed to the local Catholic diocese. It is generally believed that the name Battipaglia is formed by the union of batti (to thresh) and paglia (straw), owing to the activity of peasants in the past. However, some scholars have hypothesized that the name could have originated from Baptipalla, indicating a place devoted to Voltumna, a chthonic Etruscan deity.
The township of Battipaglia was officially established by Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies in 1858, as the Bourbon authorities designated the place as the site of an agricultural colony to house families who had survived the 1857 Basilicata earthquake. It was eventually granted the status of independent municipality by a Royal Decree on 28 March 1929 (during the Mussolini Cabinet), comprising parts of the territories which had been previously included in the nearby towns of Eboli and Montecorvino Rovella.
In 1943, during World War II, the town suffered heavy bombing by the Allied air forces, resulting in 117 civilian casualties. Although most of the town had been razed to the ground, in the aftermath of the conflict Battipaglia was to be rebuilt remarkably quickly, even attracting migrants from the hinterland seeking work. The town thus experienced an outstanding increase in population between 1951 and 1960, turning into a dynamic industrial area. In 1953, Battipaglia went under the media spotlight as its socialist mayor, Lorenzo Rago, was kidnapped never to be found again.
In 1969, due to the scheduled shutdown of two large sugar and tobacco processing factories – both employing a significant number of locals – thousands of Battipagliesi carried out widespread riots, which subsided a few days later following the Italian government's commitment to keep both operational. The few but intense days of social unrest – which took place in the context of a wider protest movement by students and workers in Italy and several other Western countries – eventually resulted in two fatalities.