Battipaglia

Battipaglia is a town and comune in the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of south-western Italy.HistoryThe area was given its modern name in 1080 AD, when Robert Guiscard confirmed to the Catholic Church of Salerno the possession of lands between the Sele river and the Tusciano river. It is generally believed that the name 'Battipaglia' is formed by the union of the terms batti (to thresh) and paglia (straw), owing to the activity of peasants in the past. However, some scholars hypothesize that the name 'Battipaglia' could come from 'Baptipalla', which would indicate a place devoted to Voltumna, a chthonic Etruscan divinity. Battipaglia was officially created by Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies as an agricultural colony in 1858, as the Bourbon authorities chose the place as the site of an agricultural colony where families who had survived the 1857 Basilicata earthquake could be rehoused. Eventually, Battipaglia was granted the status of independent municipality by a Royal Decree on 28 March 1929, during the Fascist government led by Benito Mussolini.In 1943, the town was severely bombed by U.S. aviators deployed during World War II, resulting in 117 civilian casualties. Although most of the town had been razed to the ground, in the aftermath of the conflict Battipaglia was rebuilt remarkably quickly, even attracting migratory currents from the hinterland seeking for a job. The town therefore experienced an outstanding increase in population between 1951 and 1960, turning into a dynamic industrial area.