Airola is a small town in the province of Benevento and is located in the western part of the Caudina Valley, in front of Mount Taburno.
The first settlements date back to the Roman imperial age, a period in which, thanks to the fertility of the land, important patrician villas were built.
Only later, in the period of the Early Middle Ages, the centre of the town extended around the Castle, whose ruins are still visible today on the hill of Monteoliveto.
The oldest document in which the name Airola can be found is a deed of donation from the year 820, in which Trasimondo, a nobleman from Benevento, donated the assets of the Caudina Valley to Montecassino, reserving the usufruct to his wife Crissa, with the exception of the fund of Airoaldo, son of Roaldo.
Most probably, the term "Airola" would therefore derive from Airoaldo himself – according to the medieval custom of giving the place the name of the owner – who governed from 623 to 636.
His name is made up of two terms derived from the Longobard language: "haria", which means army, and "walda", which means powerful, which is why he has been given the expression "he who has military power".
The town, before passing under Norman rule, was part of the Duchy of Benevento. Among its first feudal lords was Rainulfo I of Alife, brother-in-law of Ruggiero the Norman, who conquered it in 1130.
The feud then passed to the Della Leonessa family until 1460. Later, it became the property of Marquis Alfonso D’Avalos and the Caracciolo family and, finally, in 1732, of Bartolomeo di Capua, Prince of Riccia.
The latter, in 1754, granted the waters of the Fizzo springs free of charge to feed the waterfalls of the Royal Palace of Caserta park. Thus, in gratitude for the magnanimous gesture, King Charles III of Bourbon conferred on Airola the title of "City".
When Bartholomew died, having no heirs, Airola passed to the Royal State in 1792. Until 1816 it was part of the Principato Ultra (Avellino) and until 1861 of the Terra di Lavoro (Caserta). With the unification of Italy it passed to the province of Benevento.
Airola is rich in buildings of considerable historical and architectural interest that bear witness to its illustrious past.
Among the places to visit: the Castle, the Montevergine Palace, the Church of Santissima Annunziata, whose facade was designed in 1754 by Luigi Vanvitelli, and that of San Gabriele, with adjoining monastery.
