Acerra

:"This article is about the city Acerra. For the Ancient Roman sacrificial incense box, see Acerra (incense box). For the moth genus, see "Acerra (moth).

Infobox CityIT
img_coa = acerra-Stemma.png official_name = Comune di Acerra
region = Campania
province = Naples (NA)
elevation_m =26
area_total_km2 =54.08
population_as_of = 2007-08-31
population_total = 53134
population_density_km2 =
timezone = CET, UTC+1
coordinates = coord|40|57|N|14|22|E|
frazioni = Gaudello, Pezzalunga
telephone = 081
postalcode = 80011
gentilic = Acerrani
saint = St. Cuono and son
day = May 29
name=Acerra
mayor = Espedito Marletta
mapx=40.99|mapy=14.38
website = [http://www.comune.acerra.na.it/ www.comune.acerra.na.it]

Acerra (Latin: Acerrae) is a municipality of Campania, Italy, in the Province of Naples, about 20 km (9 mi) northeast of the provincial capital in Naples. As of 2007, it had some 53,000 inhabitants.

History

Acerra is one of the most ancient cities of the region, probably founded by the Osci with the name of "Akeru"). It was the first Roman city that was granted the status of "civitas sine suffragio" (332 BC).

Acerra was destroyed by Hannibal in 216 BC, but was restored in 210 BC.

Acerra served as a Roman base during the Social War in 90 BC. [Canby, Courtlandt. "The Encyclopedia of Historic Places". (New York: Facts of File Publicantions, 1984) p. 6]

In 826 the Lombards built here a castle, later destroyed by Bono of Naples. In 881 it was sacked by the Saracens. Later it was a Norman possession, the seat of a county. As part of the Kingdom of Naples, it was a fief of the Aquino, the Origlia, the Orsini del Balzo and, from 1496 until 1812, the Cardenas. From 1927 it was part of the province of Terra di Lavoro.

In July 2005 a statue of the Virgin Mary in St Peter's Church was said to move and take on a pink colour. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4717477.stm]

Acerra today

Acerra has been in the spotlight recently in regard to the growing problem of the disposal and treatment of industrial and urban waste in the area. Acerra, Nola, and Marigliano had been identified as the three points of the so-called "Triangle of Death" in which illegal waste management by criminal organizations ("ecomafia") have resulted in environmental conditions endangering the health of the region's people.

In October 2000, the Italian Parliament approved the findings of a commission which studied activities in Campania by the Camorra, which had been profiting from illegal waste management activities.

The scientific journal "The Lancet Oncology" published in 2004 a study by the Italian researcher Alfredo Mazza, a physiologist at the Italian CNR (Centro Nazionale per la Ricerca): this study revealed the terrible situation in the countryside of Campania and the negative impact on the people's health. He demonstrated that the deaths by cancer are much higher than average in that region with respect the European average.

Main sights

*Cathedral, originally built over and ancient temple of Hercules and remade in the 19th century. It houses some Baroque canvasses from the 17th century. Annexed is the Bishop Palace.
*Church of "Corpus Domini" (16th century).
*Church of "Annunziata" (15th century), with a 12th century crucifix and a 15th century "Annunciation" attributed to Dello Delli.
*Church of "San Pietro" (16th-17th centuries)
*Baronal Castle.
*Archaeological area of Suessula.

ources

*Senior, Kathryn, and Alfredo Mazza. [http://www.uonna.it/lancet-journal-acerra.htm "Italian 'Triangle of Death' Linked to Waste Crisis"] . "The Lancet Journal", Vol. 5, No. 9. September 1, 2004. (Retrieved from Uonna Club web site, September 23, 2006).
*Bianchi, Fabrizio, Pietro Comba, Marcio Martuzzi, Raffaele Palombino, and Renato Pizzuti. [http://www.epicentro.iss.it/focus/discariche/Lettera_Lancet.pdf#search=%22Acerra$20campania%22 "Reflection & Reaction: Italian 'Triangle of death'"] . "The Lancet Oncology", Vol. 5. December 2004. (Retrieved from the [http://www.epicentro.iss.it EpiCentro web site] , September 23, 2006).

References

External links

* [http://www.camera.it/_dati/leg13/lavori/doc/xxiii/046/d010.htm Relazione della Commissione Parlamentare] , an article about the Camorra in Campania (October 2000).
* [http://www.repubblica.it/2004/h/sezioni/cronaca/acerra/lancet/lancet.html "The Death Triangle"] , published by the Italian newspaper Repubblica.it (2004)