San Lorenzo Maggiore
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San Lorenzo Maggiore
Laurentini | |
|---|---|
| Comune di San Lorenzo Maggiore | |
 Coat of arms | |
  San Lorenzo Maggiore Location of San Lorenzo Maggiore in Italy  San Lorenzo Maggiore San Lorenzo Maggiore (Campania) | |
| Coordinates: 41°15′N 14°37′E / 41.250°N 14.617°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Campania |
| Province | Benevento (BN) |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Carlo Giuseppe Iannotti |
| Area | |
• Total | 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 330 m (1,080 ft) |
| Population (2008)[2] | |
• Total | 2,813 |
| • Density | 180/km2 (460/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Laurentini |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 82034 |
| Dialing code | 0824 |
| Patron saint | St. Lawrence of Rome |
| Saint day | 10 August |
| Website | Official website |
San Lorenzo Maggiore is a town and comune in the province of Benevento, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is a member of the Titerno Local Action Group.
San Lorenzo Maggiore covers 16.17 square kilometers of hilly land and is bordered by San Lupo, Ponte, Paupisi, Vitulano, and Guardia Sanframondi. The Calore Irpino River passes nearby.
The town is just north of Mount Taburno and south of the Matese mountains, one of the largest ranges of the Apennines. Mount Taburno rises 1,390 meters above sea level, and the vegetation to its north consists mainly of copses, plus some stretches of high forests with beech trees and conifers. The part of San Lorenzo Maggiore by the Matese is more conducive to agriculture, particularly vineyards and olive groves.
History
The area around San Lorenzo Maggiore has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as evidenced by several findings, including the "Mandorla di Chelles", a piece of quartzite that was probably used to skin animals. It was found in 1915 and is now preserved in a museum in Paris.[3]
During the rule of the Lombards, a village called Limata was established near the Calore River, where a similarly named comune now stands. In 663 A.D., it was the site of a battle between the troops of Mittola, the Lombard count of Capua, and the army of the Byzantine emperor Constans II. Around 1000, Limata, thanks to its strategic location, became a commercial center and experienced rapid demographic change, which continued with the Norman conquest of southern Italy.
On 26 December 1382, Louis I of Anjou took the throne of Naples after the death of Joanna I. In the 15th century, Limata passed into the hands of the House of Carafa. Though the Carafa technically kept it until the abolition of feudalism in 1806, they preferred to live in Naples and essentially abandoned Limata. Some residents retreated to the nearby hills, where they founded San Lorenzo Maggiore.
San Lorenzo Maggiore was administered, like other towns of southern Italy, by a council of citizens appointed each year by local landowners. The town's population, 80 families in 1532, grew to 206 by 1595. The earthquake of 5 June 1688 caused extensive damage, but the town was rebuilt, and by 1724, it had 1,700 inhabitants.
