Laviano: a town rebuilt after the earthquake

Laviano lies in the higher western part of the Sele Valley, between Irpinia and Basilicata. The earthquake of 23 November 1980 almost completely destroyed the town and killed more than 300 people. Emigration had already reduced the community; reconstruction and the generations born since the disaster have shaped its more recent history.

The surrounding hills contain holm oak, beech, chestnut and other woodland, providing habitat for wolves and wild boar. The remains of Castle d'Anna are among the most significant traces of the older town.

History

The archaeologist Corcia associated Laviano's origins with the Sabines. Finds also attest to Samnite presence from the fifth century BC. Woodland has long been central to local life: a Roman inscription records a collegium dendrophorum, a group associated with timber and its trade. Oak, beech and conifers were valued for building and ship construction.

Laviano passed between several feudal families. Under the Normans it became a county with military and administrative authority over nearby settlements. The castle remains are generally connected with the period between the late tenth and mid-eleventh centuries. The D'Anna family was among its later owners.

Monuments and natural sites

• Castle d'Anna, with seventeenth-century stone portals and decorated entrance masonry.
• The Triton Fountain and remains associated with a temple of Jupiter.
• The single-nave Church of Santa Maria della Libera, with an inlaid polychrome marble altar.
• Outdoor areas at Melito, Franzino and Valle Piana, the Eremita–Marzano protected area, and the Spagarino, Montagna Grande, Cerreta and Faito woods.