Maps of Italy

Wikipedia is cited for the information provided in this overview.

Calitri is in the Region of Campania and the province of Avellino, and adjacent to the  borders of the  Regions of Apulia and Basilicata and Molise.  Calitri  is approximately 530 meters (1,740 ft) above sea level, and even on the hottest day there is generally a breeze. The Antico Borgo is  the oldest section of the town. The Centro Storico is at the top of the mountain and contain the remains of a castle which predates the 12th century. The Antico Borgo  is a labyrinth of historic houses which have over the centuries been built into the hillside. Stone and marble stairs, frequently under old stone arches, connect the streets.

Calitri suffered a devastating earthquake in 1980 and has only been partially rebuilt. Earthquakes, or in Italian terramoto, are part of the history of Calitri and this part of Italy.  The Castello at the top of  the mountain. Its distinctive cone shaped hilltop is very impressive with its strong architectural forms. In recent reconstructions remans of the castle is  emerging as an important and physically attractive feature of the town. The population in 2010 was 5,042.

The Patron Saint of Calitri is St. Canius and the day of celebration is May 25th. The Postal Code for Calitri is 83045 and the Dialing Code is 0827. The area covered by Calitri is just under 39 square miles.

Recent excavation and reconstruction of an ancient Neviera in the Gagliano section of the town above the cemetery reveals an extensive underground, domed, ice-house of about 15 meters (50 ft) in height and 7.6 meters (25 ft) in horizontal circumference. Restored by the family of Giovanni Cerreta, the Neviera can be visited by inquiring at the Town’s tourist office in the Centro Storico.

Following is a list of prominent people of Calitrano descent. It is most notable in providing some insight into the reach of the immigration from this small town in Italy.

  • Vinicio Capossela, singer-songwriter
  • Angelo Maffucci, an Italian pathologist remembered for isolating the bacteria that causes avian tuberculosis.
  • Donald V. DeRosa, President, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California. His paternal grandparents, Vitale DeRosa and Rachele Zarrilli, and maternal grandparents, Vitantonio Giuseppe Cerreta and Maria Concetta Abate were all from Calitri.
  • Walter Lantz, American cartoonist and creator of Woody Woodpecker. His mother was Maria Gervasi from Calitri.
  • Al D’Amato, United States Senator. His mother was Antonietta Cioffari, granddaughter of Luigi Cioffari, born in 1856 in Calitri.
  • Anthony Bevilacqua, American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. His mother was Maria Giuseppa Codella from Calitri.
  • Carmine Infantino, American comic book artist and editor. His mother was Angelarosa Della Badia from Calitri.
  • Sal Paolantonio, Philadelphia-based bureau reporter for ESPN. His paternal grandparents, Nicola Paolantonio and Angela Maria Cicoira, were from Calitri.
  • Vincent Zarrilli, businessman who oversees cookware and pottery manufacturer in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents, Michele Zarrilli and Luigia Di Maio, were natives of Calitri.
  • Mary Z. Connaughton, former board member of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and the daughter of Vincent Zarrilli, mentioned above.
  • Stephen J. Marcopoto, senior international media executive, EVP & President of Turner Broadcasting Asia/Pacific and Time Inc. International; grandson of Maria Francesca Lampariello, of Calitri.
  • Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, Australian politician, Senator for the state of New South Wales representing the Liberal Party since May 2005. Both her parents were born in Calitri.
  • Joe Langworth, American actor, Broadway dancer, theater director. His great-grandfather, Salvatore Rabasco was born in Calitri in 1871.

Map of Western Europe

Map of Italy with Regions and Region Capitals

Map of Region of Compania and its Provinces

Map of Province of Avellino

Map of Calitri

Calitri Views

Select the following  video from YouTube providing views of Calitri, Italy.  

Following are various still photo views of Calitri, Italy

Italy 100 Plus Facts

  1. Italy is slightly larger than Arizona.
  2. Almost 20% of Italy’s population is over 65 years old.
  3. Italy borders six countries:  Austria, France, Vatican City,  San Marino, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
  4. Italy’s  longest border is with Switzerland.
  5. The average Italian family has 1.27 children.
  6. Everybody 18 and over can vote, however you have to be at least 25 to vote in Senate elections.
  7. The Italian flag is inspired by the French flag introduced during Napoleon’s 1797 invasion of the Italian peninsula.
  8. The average Italian makes $26,700 per year. However,   those in the more prosperous north make almost $40,000 per year.
  9. Italy’s unemployment rate is around 8.6%, but it is as high as 20% in the more impoverished south.
  10. Italian farms produce significant amounts of grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives, beef, and dairy.
  11. The average life expectancy at birth for an Italian is 79.54 years.
  12. The famous children’s story, Pinocchio , was written by an Italian, Carlo Collodi in 1881.
  13. The city of Naples gave birth to the pizza.
  14. The piano is an invention from Italy.
  15. The longest river in Italy is the Po.
  16. The average Italian consumes half a pound of bread a day.
  17. Italy’s contributions to science include the barometer, electric battery, nitroglycerin, and wireless telegraphy.
  18. Famous Italian explorers include Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo, John Cabot, and Amerigo Vespucci.
  19. Today’s modern Italian language originated in the region of Tuscany.
  20. Enrico Fermi, inventor of the nuclear reactor, was an Italian.
  21. The automobile, Fiat, is one of Italy’s greatest products.
  22. With almost 40 million visitors, Italy is the fourth most visited country in the world.
  23. Italy is home to two microstates, San Marino and Vatican City.
  24. Besides Julius Caesar, Shakespeare also set in Italy, either entirely or partially:
    Romeo and Juliet, Othello, The Merchant of Venice, Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Cymbeline, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew, Titus Andronicus, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Winter’s Tale
  25. Cologne came out of Italy.
  26. The ice cream cone is an Italian invention.
  27. The majority of Italian-American immigrants came from Naples and southern Italy.
  28. In 1921, about two and a half million Italians immigrated  to the United States.
  29. The ancient cities  of Pompeii  and Herculaneum were destroyed by the volcano Mt. Vesuvius around August in the year 79.
  30. Mt. Vesuvius last erupted in 1944, destroying a number of neighboring villages.
  31. Eyeglasses are an Italian invention.
  32. The average Italian is 41 years old.
  33. Italy has 16 regions and 4 autonomous regions, for a total of 20 regions.  Regions  are  comparable to states in the United States.
  34. Before adopting the Euro, Italy’s currency was known as the lira.
  35. The average Italian consumes 26 gallons of wine a year.
  36. Italy’s major industries include tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, and ceramics.
  37. Italy has more hotel rooms than any other nation in Europe.
  38. The espresso machine was invented in Italy.
  39. Italy is the world’s fifth largest industrial economy.
  40. Italy has about 116,000 square miles of land.
  41. Barely a third of Italy’s land is arable and suitable for farming.
  42. Italy’s biggest trading partners are Germany, France, the United States, and Great Britain.
  43. Over 40% of Italy’s labor force is unionized.
  44. The telephone was created by an Italian Antonio Meucci and patented in 1871.
  45. Most of Italy’s industry is centered around the northern cities of Milan, Turin, and Genoa.
  46. Since the end of World War II, Italy has had almost 60 governments.
  47. The area around Venice is the wealthiest region in Europe.
  48. Over 75% of Italy is mountainous or hilly.
  49. The typewriter is an Italian invention.
  50. Italians used to be known for having large families, however Italy is now known for having Europe’s lowest birthrate.
  51. Italy owes much of its prosperity to thousands of small private family enterprises.
  52. Italian families save more money than the Japanese and Germans, and three times more than Americans do.
  53. The average Italian consumes 25 kilograms of pasta a year or about 55 pounds or about 1 pound per week.
  54. With over 5 million people, Rome is Italy’s largest city. O=0
  55. Italy has a population of over 58 million.
  56. Italians refer to their country as Italia.
  57. Italy imports over 75% of its energy.
  58. The service sector accounts for almost 70% of the Italian economy.
  59. Agriculture used to make up over a third of Italy’s economy. It now makes up less than three percent.
  60. The official language is Italian, but German and French are also spoken in some regions.
  61. Italy’s north has warm summers and cool winters. Italy’s south has hot summers and mild winters.
  62. The Seven Hills of Rome are Aventine, Caelian, Capitoline, Esquiline, Palatine, Quirinal, and Viminal.
  63. The symbol SPQR can be found on many ancient buildings in Rome. It stands for “the senate and people of Rome.”
  64. Rome was founded in 753 BC.
  65. Italy did not become a united country until 1861
  66. The national protest song of Italy is Bella Ciao. It was made famous by Italian partisans in World War II, and can be heard at almost any protest.
  67. Before Rome became a republic and an empire, it had seven kings.
  68. From the remotest part of norther Italy to the most remote and extended part of Southern Italy is about 800 miles.
  69. “Ars longa, vita brevis” is a common saying in Italy. It means “art is long, life is short” and reflects the Italian love of leisure.
  70. An engineering marvel of the ancient world, Cloacus Maxima was one of the first and the largest sewer systems built in Rome to drain the wetlands and process the waste.
  71. The first Roman Emperor was Augustus Octavian, who came to power in 27 BC.
  72. The Roman Empire fell in 476 A.D.  after its last emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was forced to abdicate by barbarian invaders.
  73. A Roman Centurion commanded 100 hundred men.
  74. A Roman Legion was made up of 6,000 men.
  75. Italy has a resident foreign population of 1.27 million.
  76. Italy’s current constitution took effect January 1, 1948
  77. The president of Italy is a ceremonial figure.
  78. The prime minister serves as the head of government and is the one who runs the country.
  79. Since October 1946, the national anthem of Italy has been Inno di Mameli .
  80. The Italian flag is green, white, and red.
  81. The colors of the Italian flag represent three virtues: hope (green), faith (white), and charity (red).
  82. The Italian Republic does not have an official motto, but it does have a common phrase: “L’Italia e’ una Repubblica democratica, fondata sul lavoro” (Italy is a democratic Republic, founded on labor).
  83. St. Francis of Assisi and Saint Caterina of Siena are the patron saints of Italy.
  84. 98% of Italians are Roman Catholic.
  85. The Roman Catholic Church is based in Italy in the Vatican.
  86. Italy has over 3,000 museums.
  87. The national sport of Italy is soccer and is known as football outside of America.
  88. Italy’s national dish is pasta.
  89. The Italian language evolved from the Latin of the Roman Empire and number of Vulgar languages that evolved
  90. The Italian peninsula is surrounded by five seas; the Adriatic, Ionian, Tyrrhenean, Ligurian, and Mediterranean.
  91. Italy has two large islands, Sicily and Sardinia, as well as a number of smaller islands.
  92. The Italian Island of Sicily is famous for being the original home of the illicit Mafia criminal organization.
  93. Napoleon spent his first exile on the Italian island of Elba.
  94. The Alps Mountain range forms part of Italy’s northern border and for a long time protected the peninsula from invasion.
  95. Italy has three active volcanoes: Vesuvius, Etna, and Stromboli.
  96. Naples is the largest city in southern Italy.
  97. Next to Rome, Milan is the second-largest city in Italy
  98. Milan is home to Italian fashion and finance.
  99. Rome’s nickname is “The Eternal City.”
  100. Florence is home to Italian art and the Italian Renaissance.
  101. A vespa is an Italian-made motor scooter that many people ride around on busy city streets.
  102. The piano is an Italian invention.
  103. The violin is an Italian invention.
  104. The opera is an Italian invention.
  105. Italy is the largest wine producer and largest wine exporter
  106. The city of Rome is over 2000 years old.
  107. Italy is the home of Europe’s oldest university, the University of Bologna.
  108. Tourists throw over one million Euros into Trevi Fountain annually.
  109. Italians starting eating pasta around the fourth century BC
  110. Italy has 55 World Heritage sites and more than any other country in the world.
  111. The Vatican is the smallest country in the world and is about one eighth the size of Central Park in New York City.
  112. Italy  has the oldest population in Europe
  113. During the Roman Empire Italy was a single entity and then was divided into separate sovereign states until 1861.
  114. Of Shakespeare’s 38 plays, 13 of them were set in Italy.
  115. Benito Mussolini established a dictatorship over Italy from 1925 to 1945 when he was killed at the end of the Second World War.
  116. The battery was invented by Alessandro Volta in 1800.
  117. Santoro Santorio designed the first thermometer in 1612.
  118. Italian monks invented eyeglasses in the 13th century.
  119. The first bank was opened in 1149 in Genoa and called the First Bank of San Giorgio.