Rionero in Vulture

Infobox CityIT
img_coa = Rionero in Vulture.jpg
official_name = Rionero in Vulture
region = Basilicata
province = Potenza (PZ)
elevation_m = 643
area_total_km2 = 53
population_as_of =
population_total = 13423
population_density_km2 = 253
timezone = CET, UTC+1
coordinates = coord|40|55|N|15|40|E
frazioni = Monticchio, Monticchio Bagni, Monticchio Laghi, Valico 113 di Monticchio
telephone = 0972
postalcode = 85028
gentilic = Rioneresi
saint = St. Mark
day = April 25
mayor = Antonio PLACIDO
website = [http://www.comune.rioneroinvulture.pz.it/ www.comune.rioneroinvulture.pz.it ]

Rionero in Vulture is a town and comune in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni of Aquilonia (AV), Atella, Barile, Calitri (AV), Melfi, Rapolla, Ripacandida, Ruvo del Monte.

Geography and Climate

Rionero in Vulture is located on the slopes of Monte Vulture in the northern part of the region of Basilicata.

History

The first historical mention of the hamlet of "Saint Maria di Rivonigro" goes back to 1152, when it is mentioned as a feudal possession of the bishop of Rapolla. In 1316 the inhabitants of Rionero abandoned their hamlet and took part in the construction of the village of Atella which had received tax concessions. The hamlet remained unpopulated during most of the 14th and 15th centuries until the influx of refugees from Albania and Greece (i.e. from Scutari and Corona) and several groups taking advantage of tax exemptions promulgated in those years. Its history overlaps with those of the neighbors Barile, Melfi, Ginestra ("Lombarda Massa") and Maschito.

On April 1, 1502 Louis d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours & Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba met at the Church of St. Antonio Abate in Rionero to negotiate the partition of Southern Italy. They decided that the Abruzzi and Campania were to go to the French and Apulia and Calabria to the Spanish.

In 1627 the inhabitants of Rionero were forced to change their religious observances from the Greek rite to the Latin rite by Diodato Scaglia, the Bishop of Melfi.

Seriously hit by the earthquake of 1694, Rionero's population in that period did not exceed the 700 souls. Later on the Caracciolo, princes of Torella, to whom belonged the feudal rights, granted permission for the deforestation, the tillage, and the cultivation of lands occupied from the forests of the locality "Gaudo" and as a result of the consequent economic development the population endured a strong growth: in the year 1735 the inhabitants had grown to approximately 3,000, in 1752 to approximately 9,000 and by 1811 they had exceeded 11,000. In this year, on May 4th, the ancient hamlet obtained the administrative autonomy as a comune from King Joachim Murat. By the mid 19th century the population grew until reaching approximately 20,000 inhabitants. The successive and periodic waves of emigration diminished the population down to roughly 14,000 inhabitants.

On the 23rd of September, 1943, German paratroopers of the 1st Parachute Division (Germany) retreated from Atella after being shelled by Canadian artillery. They withdrew northward and for two more days they occupied Rionero. On September 24, sixteen Rioneresi were massacred in the Largo San Antonio by the paratroopers . Two days later on September 26, patrols from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry attached to the 1st Canadian Infantry Division entered Rionero and the neighboring town of Barile unopposed.

port

The principal sport of the city is football.