Every design for Avellino

Avellino is the capital of Irpinia, known for the green hollow it sits in, the hazelnut groves that surround it and the mountains that close it in on every side. It is an important stop on the road between Salerno and Benevento, a city of the inland Apennines rather than the coast.

The town lies in the flattest part of the Conca avellinese, a broad valley of volcanic origin. To the north-west rises the massif of Montevergine, to the south-east the Picentini range, to the east Monte Tuoro, and small streams run through the city towards the Sabato. The Samnite Hirpini lived here first, then the Romans built Abellinum by the river; when that city was abandoned, people moved up onto the Terra hill and the modern town began around its castle. Today the Castello Longobardo, the Cattedrale di Avellino and the Museo Irpino keep that long story, and the Area archeologica dell'antica Abellinum shows where it started. Later the princes of the Caracciolo family made Avellino their seat.

In the middle of it all stands the Torre dell'Orologio, the Fontana di Bellerofonte is never far away, and the long ridge of Montevergine fills the horizon.