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 . This powerful eruption from Mount Vesuvius caused the inhabitants to leave behind a wide range of pottery and other artifacts. The foundations of their buildings are also preserved in imprints among the mud left by the eruption.
Antiquity
Nola 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 . It once vied in luxury with Capua. During the Roman invasion of Naples in 328 , Nola was probably occupied by the Oscans in alliance with the Samnites. Amid the Samnite War, the Romans took the town in 311 . Under Roman rule, the city was the site of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battles of Nola during Hannibal's invasion of Italy amid the Second Punic War. On two occasions, it was defended by Marcellus. It fell by treason to the Samnites during the Social War. It was stormed by Spartacus during his failed slave revolt. The emperorAugustus died there on 19 August 14, in allegedly 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. Though a relative backwater, Nola retained its status as a municipium, its own institutions, and the use of the Oscan language. It was divided into s were made at Nola, using its fine yellow clay and a shining black glaze. They are decorated with red figures. Following the rise of Christianity, it became a bishopric. One bishop, the Christian senatorPaulinus, is traditionally credited with the introduction of the use of bells to Christian worship. His small handbells were subsequently known as nolas for his seat and the larger tower bells as campanas'' from the surrounding area. Revered as a saint, Paulinus's relics turned the town into a site of Christian pilgrimage.
The 1460 Battle of Nola 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 the 15th and 16th centuries. The nearby Cicala Castle was the birthplace of Giordano Bruno. 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. In the 1990s to the 2000s, a waste management crisis broke out in the city as a result of illegal dumping by the Camorra. Majority of the waste was dumped in the region between Nola, Acerra, and Marigliano, referred to as 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.
Sights
Although Roman ruins, including an amphitheatre and 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 the Archaeological Museum. Other sites include:
Two fairs are held in Nola: one on 14 June and another on 12 November. The Festival of the Lilies is held on 22 June or the Sunday beforehand, honoring St Paulinus. It lasts seven days, til 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, 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:
Greengrocers
Butchers of pigs
Innkeepers
Bakers
Boatmakers
Butchers of other meats
Shoemakers
Smiths
Dressmakers
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.
