Nola is a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples , Campania , southern Italy . It lies on the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines . It is traditionally credited as the diocese that introduced bells to Christian worship .
41-480: Excavations at Nola-Croce del Papa have uncovered extensive evidence of a small village quickly abandoned at the time of the Avellino Eruption in the 17th century BC. This powerful eruption from Mount Vesuvius caused the inhabitants to leave behind a wide range of pottery and other artefacts. The foundations of their buildings are also preserved in imprints among the mud left by the eruption. Nola
82-482: A municipium , its own institutions, and the use of the Oscan language . It was divided into pagi , the names of some of which are preserved: Pagus Agrifanus , Capriculanus , Lanitanus . The discoveries of the pavement of the ancient city have not been noted with sufficient care to recover most of the plan, but a large number of Grecian vases were made at Nola, using its fine yellow clay and
123-927: A daughter named Flordelis (d. 27 February 1297), who married Ranieri Della Gherardesca, Count of Donoratico and Bolgheri . Contemporaries praised the noble and magnanimous character of Manfred, who was renowned for his physical beauty and intellectual attainments. In the Divine Comedy , Dante Alighieri meets Manfred outside the gates of Purgatory , where the spirit explains that, although he repented of his sins in articulo mortis , he must atone for his contumacy by waiting 30 years for each year he lived as an excommunicate, before being admitted to Purgatory proper. He then asks Dante to tell Constance about him being in Purgatory. With this statement, Manfred reveals that one's time in Purgatory can lessen if someone still alive can pray on their behalf, anticipating one of
164-408: A love of poetry and science. At Frederick's death in 1250, Manfred, although only about 18 years old, acted loyally and with vigour in the execution of his trust. The Kingdom was in turmoil, mainly due to rebellions spurred by Pope Innocent IV . Manfred was able to subdue numerous rebel cities, with the exception of Naples . Manfred attempted in 1251 to make concessions to Pope Innocent to stave off
205-586: A saint, Paulinus's relics turned the town into a site of Christian pilgrimage . Nola was sacked by Alaric in 410 and by the Vandals under Gaiseric in 453. It was sacked by Muslims in 806 and 904 and captured by Manfred of Sicily in the 13th century. Under Charles of Anjou , it was held by Guy de Montfort as the County of Nola . It was inherited by his eldest daughter's Orsini husband and then held by members of their family. The 1460 Battle of Nola
246-478: A shining black glaze. They are decorated with red figures. Following the rise of Christianity , it became a bishopric . One bishop, the Christian senator Paulinus , is traditionally credited with the introduction of the use of bells to Christian worship. His small handbells were subsequently known as nola s for his seat and the larger tower bells as campana s from the surrounding area. Revered as
287-531: A treaty made in September 1254, Manfred submitted, and accepted the title of Papal vicar for southern Italy But Manfred—his suspicions aroused by the demeanour of the papal retinue and annoyed by the occupation of Campania by papal troops—fled to the Saracens at Lucera . Aided by Saracen allies, he defeated the papal army at Foggia on 2 December 1254, and soon established his authority over Sicily and
328-467: Is indicative of Dante's dislike of popes' use of excommunication as a political and policy tool. According to Dante, Manfred's excommunication does not make it impossible for him to make it through Purgatory and, eventually, into Paradise. Dante adds to this characterization of Manfred and the Church by describing how the Church ordered Manfred's bones unearthed after his death and thrown into a river outside
369-548: Is noteworthy for the clever stratagem by which John , duke of Calabria , defeated Ferdinand , king of Naples , who fled the field with only 20 followers. Ferdinand, however, was supported by Pope Pius II , the duke of Milan , and the Albanian lord Skanderbeg . With his wife Isabella successfully wooing John's major supporters away, the king recovered his domain over the next decade. Nola itself subsequently lost its importance after its repeated destruction by earthquakes in
410-684: Is paraphrased as death not eliminating hope so long as even a bit of hope is there. Manfred formed the subject of dramas by E.B.S. Raupach , O. Marbach and F.W. Roggee. Three letters written by Manfred were published by J. B. Carusius in Bibliotheca historica regni Siciliae ( Palermo , 1732). Manfred's name was borrowed by the English author Horace Walpole for the main character of his short novel The Castle of Otranto (1764). Montague Summers , in his 1924 edition of this work, showed that some details of Manfred of Sicily's real history inspired
451-530: The Porta Nolana , Napoli Centrale railway station , and stations at Pomigliano d’Arco and Baiano . Connecting trains in that system go to the tourist attractions of Pompeii and Herculaneum . In the 1990s to the 2000s, a waste management crisis broke out in the city as a result of illegal dumping by the Camorra . Most of the waste was dumped between Nola, Acerra , and Marigliano , referred to as
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#1732765646367492-633: The Samnites . Nola sent 2000 troops to defend Naples against the Romans (Paleopolis/Neapolis) in 327 BC. The Romans took Nola in 313 BC after setting fire to buildings near the city walls. Under Roman rule during Hannibal 's invasion of Italy amid the Second Punic War , the city was the site of the 1st , 2nd , and 3rd Battles of Nola . On two occasions (215 and 214 BC), it was defended by Marcellus . In 90 BC it fell by treason to
533-537: The " Triangle of Death ". A 2004 study by Alfredo Mazza published in The Lancet Oncology revealed that deaths by cancer in the area are much higher than the European average. Other Roman ruins, including a temple to Augustus, survived as long as the 16th century, they were then plundered for building material and few signs remain. A few tombs are preserved, and results from excavations are displayed at
574-580: The 15th and 16th centuries. The nearby Cicala Castle was the birthplace of Giordano Bruno ( b . 1548). In 1820, General Pepe 's revolution began in Nola. The sculptor Giovanni Merliano was a native of the city; and some of his works are preserved in the cathedral. Nola is a suburb of Naples . It is connected to the central city by a suburban railway , the Circumvesuviana . Passengers can ride direct to Napoli Porta Nolana railway station near
615-559: The Archaeological Museum. Other sites include: The passion for gladiatorial combat was at its strongest in Campania among the locals and also the army veterans. So a permanent building for these was erected, as elsewhere, in the 1st c. BC, holding 20,000 spectators. The site was just inside the northern walls where existing buildings were demolished and one side of the arena took advantage of the wall embankment. The podium
656-553: The Kingdom of Sicily, renamed it Sypontum Novellum ("New Sypontum"), but that name never imposed. Manfred maintained diplomatic relations with the Mamluk sultans of Egypt through the exchange of gifts. Sultan Baybars , for example, sent him a giraffe, acquired through a tribute from Nubia , and considered one of the rarest, most dazzling gifts one could send. Manfred was married twice: Manfred had at least one illegitimate child,
697-544: The Margrave Berthold of Hohenberg , a powerful German baron, as Conradin's regent . In May 1254 Conrad died of malaria at the age of twenty-six. Manfred, after refusing to surrender Sicily to Innocent IV, accepted the regency on behalf of Conradin. The pope however, having been named guardian of Conradin, excommunicated Manfred in July 1254. The regent decided to open negotiations with Innocent. As part of
738-646: The Samnites during the Social War . In 89 BC, Sulla routed the rebel army near Pompeii, chased them to Nola and there massacred 20,000 rebels at the Battle of Nola in front of the walls. It was stormed in 73-72 BC by Spartacus during his failed slave revolt. The 1st c. BC saw a number of public buildings constructed including the amphitheatre . The emperor Augustus died nearby at his sumptuous villa at Somma Vesuviana on 19 August AD 14, in allegedly
779-705: The Sicilian possessions on the mainland. In that year Manfred supported the Ghibelline communes in Tuscany, in particular Siena , to which he provided a corps of German knights that was later instrumental in the defeat of Florence at the Battle of Montaperti . He thus reached the status of patron of the Ghibelline League. Also in that year Innocent died, succeeded by Alexander IV , who immediately excommunicated Manfred. In 1257, however, Manfred crushed
820-588: The battlefield, a huge heap of stones was placed, but afterwards with the consent of the pope the remains were unearthed, cast out of the papal territory, and interred on the bank of the Garigliano River , outside of the boundaries of Naples and the Papal States . At the Battle of Benevento Charles captured Helena, Manfred's second wife, and imprisoned her. She lived five years later in captivity in
861-529: The castle of Nocera Inferiore where she died in 1271. Manfred's son-in-law Peter III eventually became King Peter I of Sicily from 1282 after the Sicilian Vespers expelled the French from the island again. The modern city of Manfredonia was built by King Manfred between 1256–1263, some kilometers north of the ruins of the ancient Sipontum . The Angevines, who had defeated Manfred and stripped him of
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#1732765646367902-581: The design of the gigli may have influenced the design of the Watts Towers . Nola is twinned with: Nola-Croce del Papa Nola-Croce del Papa was an early Bronze Age village discovered in May 2001 in the Campania region near Nola , Italy . The excavation was directed by French archaeologist Claude Albore Livadie, who described the settlement as the "first Pompeii ". Archaeologists found
943-522: The entire settlement only three structures remained intact after the eruption. No human remains have been found in the settlement, leading archaeologists to believe its populace escaped, although not all made it to safety. The lack of personal belongings in the settlement also lead to the belief that the people were given enough time to gather their most precious belongings before leaving. Manfred of Sicily Manfred ( Sicilian : Manfredi di Sicilia ; 1232 – 26 February 1266)
984-412: The huge lilies are carried through the town on residents' shoulders along a route that has been followed for more than a thousand years. Each represents one of the local guilds or corporations, coming in the following order: Each of the organizations is responsible for one day of the festivities. The 2010 festival—along with its fellows—was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site . It is possible that
1025-489: The kingdom in fear that his gravesite would inspire the development of a cult around it. Manfred's presence in Purgatorio also holds a more general symbolic value. Robert Hollander argues that Manfred's time in Purgatory should be seen as a symbol of hope, given that Manfred's final statement in Purgatorio , Canto III is that "hope maintains a thread of green" ( speranza ha fior del verde ) ( Purgatorio III.135), which
1066-439: The lost settlement after discovering the bodies of two people that had been caught by pyroclastic flow as they were fleeing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius . The eruption, which took place in the 2nd millennium BCE , covered the village in volcanic ash . The remains of livestock such as goats were found, and various fossils were also found as mud had flowed into the structures and preserved various foodstuffs and plants. Of
1107-513: The necessity for a strong native ruler. The pope, to whom the Saracen alliance was a serious offence, declared Manfred's coronation void. Undeterred by the excommunication Manfred sought to obtain power in central and northern Italy, where the Ghibelline leader Ezzelino III da Romano had disappeared. He named vicars in Tuscany, Spoleto , Marche , Romagna and Lombardy . After Montaperti he
1148-539: The novelist. The name was re-borrowed by Lord Byron for his dramatic poem Manfred (1817). Inspired by Byron's poem, Manfred was adapted musically by Robert Schumann in 1852, in a composition entitled Manfred: Dramatic Poem with Music in Three Parts , and later by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in his Manfred Symphony (1885). King Manfred ( König Manfred ), Op. 93 is a grand romantic opera in 5 acts by Carl Reinecke to libretto by Friedrich Roeber . It
1189-499: The ongoing conflict between the Hohenstaufens and the papacy through combat and political alliances. He defeated the papal army at Foggia on 2 December 1254. Excommunicated by three successive popes, Manfred was the target of a Crusade (1255–66) called first by Pope Alexander IV and then by Urban IV . Nothing came of Alexander's call, but Urban enlisted the aid of Charles of Anjou in overthrowing Manfred. Manfred
1230-412: The papal army and settled all the rebellions, imposing his firm rule of southern Italy and receiving the title of vicar from Conradin. On 10 August 1258, taking advantage of Conradin's rumoured death, Manfred was crowned King of Sicily at Palermo . The falsehood of this report was soon manifest; but the new king, supported by the popular voice, declined to abdicate and pointed out to Conradin's envoys
1271-566: The process of being carried away. Two fairs are held in Nola: one on 14 June and another on 12 November. The Festival of the Lilies ( Festa dei Gigli ) is held on 22 June or the Sunday beforehand, honouring St Paulinus . It lasts seven days, until the next Sunday. Eight lilies and a boat are made of wood and covered with papier-mache from the city's art shops. On the last day of the festival,
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1312-429: The prospect of war, but the attempt failed. When Conrad IV , Manfred's legitimate brother, appeared in southern Italy in 1252, his authority was quickly and generally acknowledged. Conrad quickly stripped Manfred of all his fiefs by limiting his authority solely to the principality of Taranto. In October 1253, Naples fell into the hands of Conrad. Conrad made the pope the guardian of Conradin , his infant son, and named
1353-546: The recurring themes in Purgatorio . Family connections, whether by blood or by marriage, are heavily referenced throughout this section of the Divine Comedy . Dante uses these relationships to demonstrate that earthly connections impede souls in Purgatory from reaching Paradise. Dante's placing of Manfred in Purgatory is surprising given Manfred's excommunication by multiple popes. Manfred's placement in Purgatory
1394-569: The same room his father died in 72 years earlier. Augustus and Vespasian settled colonies in the area. In the Roman road network, Nola lay between Capua and Lower Nocera on the Via Popilia . A branch road ran from it to Abella and Avellino . Nola was connected to the plentiful water supply of the Serino aqueduct after 20 BC. Though a relative backwater, Nola retained its status as
1435-563: Was crowned in Rome in January 1266, the pope being absent. On 20 January he set southwards and waded the Liri river, invading the Kingdom of Sicily. After some minor clashes, the rival armies met at the Battle of Benevento on 26 February 1266, and Manfred's army was defeated. The king himself, refusing to flee, rushed into the midst of his enemies and was killed. Over his body, which was buried on
1476-449: Was faced with sheets of white marble elaborately carved with scenes and finished at the top with a balustrade with the same stone. It was partially rebuilt and renovated over the centuries, maybe after earthquakes. By the end of the 5th century it was abandoned and used as a quarry. The eruption of Vesuvius in the early 6th century and the subsequent flood partially buried the building and saved some of it for posterity, including marble in
1517-668: Was killed during his defeat by Charles at the Battle of Benevento , and Charles assumed kingship of Sicily. Manfred was born in Venosa . Frederick II appears to have regarded him as legitimate, and by his will named him as Prince of Taranto . Frederick named Manfred's half-brother Conrad IV king of Germany, Italy and Sicily, but Manfred was regent of Sicily while Conrad was in Germany. Manfred, who initially bore his mother's surname, studied in Paris and Bologna and shared with his father
1558-583: Was most successful with Charles I of Anjou , a brother of King Louis IX of France , who accepted the investiture of the kingdom of Sicily at his hands. Hearing of the approach of Charles, Manfred issued a manifesto to the Romans , in which he not only defended his rule over Italy but even claimed the imperial crown. Charles' army, some 30,000 strong, entered Italy from the Col de Tende in late 1265. He soon reduced numerous Ghibelline strongholds in northern Italy and
1599-567: Was one of the oldest cities of Campania , with its most ancient coins bearing the name Nuvlana . It was later said to have been founded by the Ausones , who were certainly occupying the city by c. 560 BC. It once vied in luxury with Capua . During the Roman invasion of Campania in the Samnite War in 328 BC, Nola was probably occupied by the Oscans in alliance with
1640-474: Was recognized as protector of Tuscany by the citizens of Florence, who did homage to his representative, and he was chosen "Senator of the Romans" by a faction in the city. His power was also augmented by the marriage of his daughter Constance in 1262 to Peter III of Aragon . Terrified by these proceedings, the new Pope Urban IV excommunicated him. The pope first tried to sell the Kingdom of Sicily to Richard of Cornwall and his son, but in vain. In 1263 he
1681-554: Was the last King of Sicily from the Hohenstaufen dynasty, reigning from 1258 until his death. The natural son of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II , Manfred became regent over the kingdom of Sicily on behalf of his nephew Conradin in 1254. As regent he subdued rebellions in the kingdom, until in 1258 he usurped Conradin's rule. After an initial attempt to appease Pope Innocent IV he took up