Acerra (NA): A commune of Campania, in the province of Napoli.
Former Names (if any): anc. Acerrae.
Region: Campania │ Province: Napoli.
Coordinates: Lat. 40° 57′ 6′′ N/Long. 14° 22′ 37′′ E.
Location/Setting: Located 14 km NNE of Naples, it is situated in a quadrilateral plain along the Carmignano Canal. Part of the Regione Agraria n. 6 – Piano Campano sud-orientale.
Alt.: 26 m.
Area: 54.08 km².
Population: 50,808 (2006e); 50,808 (2005); 45,688 (2001); 41,311 (1991); 36,052 (1981) .
Pop. Density: 821.02/km² (2005).
Frazioni & Localities: Gaudello, Pezzalunga.
CAP: 80011
Tel. Prefix: 081
ISTAT:
Name of Inhabitants: Acerrani.
Patron Saint(s): San Cuono. Feast Day: May 29.
Economy: Much of the commune is devoted to the production of corn, hemp, potatoes and beans. Sulfur and mineral springs are located in the commune.
History:
Of Oscan or Etruscan origins, the town came under Samnite control in the 5th century BC. It is known to have been part of a league of Etrusco-Oscan cities controlled by Capua. Its first mention in history occurred in 332 BC when, at the end of a war of the Romans against the Latins and Campanians, it received the status of civitas sine suffragio (citizenship without voting rights) in the Roman State. In 216 BC, during the 2nd Punic War, the town was besieged and destroyed by Hannibal. For their loyalty to Rome, the citizens received permission to reconstruct their town in 210 BC. The new town, with its strong fortifications, remained loyal to Rome during the Social War of the early 1st century BC, successfully withstanding a siege by rebel forces under C. Papius in 90 BC. While the ancient town was able to defend itself from the attacks of men, it had no defense from those of nature. Because of its proximity to the river Clanius, the town suffered repeated flooding, undermining its buildings and destroying its crops. For much of the remainder of the 1st century BC Acerrae saw its population and prosperity decline dramatically. In the early years of the Empire, however, new life was breathed into the town. Augustus (r37 BC – AD 14) established a Roman veterans’ colony on the site in 22 BC. Unfortunately, this new revitalization was short-lived and Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) described the town as municipium instead of a colonia. Eventually it came under the control of a Prefect appointed directly from Rome instead of being locally chosen. During the peace of the early Empire, Acerrae became an important center for the worship of the Egyptian deities Isis and Serapis. A major temple to these gods was built here as was one dedicated to Hercules. Even so, Acerrae managed to remain a place of enough importance to become the seat of a bishopric during the 6th century AD.
After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Acerra changed hands several times. It came under the control of the Byzantine Duchy of Naples in AD 494. It was seized by the Lombards of Benevento in c826, who fortified it with a castle. It survived the ravages of the Saracens who destroyed neighboring Suessula in cAD 880/1. During the first half of the 11th century, a Norman county was established here. The earlier Lombard castle, which had been destroyed, was rebuilt and strengthened further. The Hohenstaufen Emperor, Frederick II, granted the town as a fief to his legate Tommaso D’Aquino (1218). Near the end of the 13th century, the town came under the direct control of the Angevin rulers of Naples. In 1310, it again changed status, becoming a fief of the Counts of Aquino. In 1420, Acerra suffered the first of two successful sieges by the Aragonese. The second one, in 1480, was led by King Ferdinand I. Despite these defeats, anti-Aragonese feelings continued and the town took part in the unsuccessful Conspiracy of the Barons (1485-86). Soon after this it was awarded to Ferdinando de Carenas whose family who held it until 1806.
Throughout most of its history Acerra remained a victim of flooding by the river Clanius. Only in relatively recent times were canals finally dug designed to draw floodwaters away from the town.
Damage was suffered from earthquakes in 1456, 1857, 1910, 1930, 1962, 1980, and 1984.