Nuceria

In the period before the Roman supremacy in southern Italy, the whole territory was known as Nuceria, the chief town in the Sarnus valley – Herculaneum, Pompeii, Stabiae and Surrentum all being dependent upon it, according to many archaeologists. It maintained its allegiance to Rome till 309 BC when it joined the revolted Samnites.^[1] In 308 BC it repulsed a Roman attempt to land at the mouth of the Sarnus, but in 307 BC it was besieged and surrendered. It obtained favourable terms, and remained faithful to Rome even after Cannae.^[1]

Hannibal reduced it in 216 BC by starvation, and destroyed the town of Nuceria. The inhabitants returned when peace was restored. Even during the Social War it remained true to Rome. In 73 BC it was plundered by Spartacus.^[1]

Saracen colony

In the Middle Ages (around the 9th century) a small colony of Saracens was actually introduced in the annexed territory of nowadays Pagani by permission of the Dukes of Naples; according to most sources, it lasted only a few decades, but other sources state that a second colony of Muslim Saracens was later introduced by Frederick II.^[2] The town was described as "a genuine Muhammadan town with all its characteristic mosques and minarets."^[3] It is said that, through their darker complexion and features, the townsfolk maintain the heritage of these Muslim settlers.^[4]

After the mid-9th century the town was part of the principality of Salerno first, and then of the principality of Capua.

Pagano family

The House of Pagano, an ancient noble family of local lords living in the castle of Cortimpiano (Latin: Curtis in Plano), in the territory of Pagani, apparently took this surname from the Saracen pagans who previously inhabited the area. A family member named Ugo dei Pagani is credited as crusader knight and founder of the Knights Templar. Reference to Nocera as his birthplace is found at least as early as Baedeker's Southern Italy (1869)^[5] and is also found in the Old Catholic Encyclopedia.^[6] Two more recent writers say that the theory is supported by a letter that Hugues wrote from Palestine in 1103, in which he talked of writing to "my father in Nocera" to tell him of the death of his cousin Alessandro.^[7][8]

Second millennium

The citadel of Nuceria, located where the future Nocera Inferiore would rise, was besieged by Roger II of Sicily in the battle in 1132, after four months he razed the town to the ground. After its reconstruction, the birth of the modern Nocera began with many hamlets and villages which gradually expanded and became small towns.

During the Angevin dominion (1266–1435) Nocera was rebuilt and took the name of Nuceria Christianorum (Italian: Nocera dei Cristiani, lit. 'Nocera of the Christians'). In 1385 Pope Urban VI was besieged in the city castle by Charles III of Naples.

In the XV century the town name was changed to Nuceria Paganorum (Italian: Nocera dei Pagani, lit. 'Nocera of the Pagans') in honor to the Pagano family, itself named after the Saracen pagans who previously inhabited the area. Throughout the Spanish domination, the town was subdivided into two departments (Nocera Soprana and Nocera Sottana), each one composed of multiple municipalities.

Every year in August, the male adults of each municipality gathered in public assembly to elect their particular mayor; then – in a different assembly – each department elected the universal mayors: two for Nocera Soprana and one for Nocera Sottana, which together led Nocera dei Pagani as a triumvirate.

Department	Municipality	Territory
Nocera Soprana	Nocera Corpo	Nocera Superiore Nocera Inferiore[lower-alpha 3]
	San Matteo[lower-alpha 4]	Nocera Inferiore[lower-alpha 5]
	Tre Casali[lower-alpha 4]	Nocera Inferiore[lower-alpha 6]
	Sperandei	Nocera Inferiore
	Pucciano[lower-alpha 7]	Nocera Superiore
Nocera Sottana	Barbazzano	Pagani
	Pagani	Pagani
	Sant'Egidio	Sant'Egidio del Monte Albino
	Corbara	Corbara

The town survived until 1806. In 1807 five comuni were established: Barbazzano merged into the comune of Pagani; Sperandei merged into San Matteo Tre Casali,^{[lower-alpha 4]} forming the comune of Nocera San Matteo; while Nocera Corpo, Sant'Egidio and Corbara stayed autonomous. In 1834, the remnants of Nocera Soprana (Nocera Corpo and Nocera San Matteo) merged back into a single comune, but fourteen districts of Nocera Corpo (including Pucciano)^{[lower-alpha 7]} later asked for self-administration, which was granted by decree № 1960 on 11 November 1850, with effect from 1 January 1851; thus were born the contemporary comuni of Nocera Superiore (corresponding to most of Nocera Corpo) and Nocera Inferiore (formerly Nocera San Matteo).

Notes

References

Sources in English

• Baedeker, Karl (1869) [1867]. Italy: handbook for travellers (in English and German). Vol. III (2 ed.). Coblenz. p. 145.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Benigni, Umberto (1911). "Nocera dei Pagani". Catholic Encyclopedia. By VV.AA. Vol. XI. New York: Robert Appleton Company. p. 11087a.
• Browning, Robert (1984). The Poetical Works of Robert Browning. Vol. II. Strafford, Sordello (reprint, annotated ed.). Clarendon Press. p. 300. ISBN 9780198123170.
• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Nocera Inferiore" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 730.
• Scott, Walter (31 August 2013). Douglas, David (ed.). The Journal of Sir Walter Scott. Vol. 2: From the Original Manuscript at Abbotsford (illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 470–1. ISBN 9781108064309. In the latter village [Nocera Inferiore] the Saracens obtained a place of refuge, from which it takes the name. It is also said that the circumstance is kept in memory by the complexion and features of this second Nocera, which are peculiarly of the African caste and tincture.

Sources in Italian

• Belsito, Francesco; De Pascale, Carmine (2013). Storia di Pagani. Monumenti, personaggi, tradizioni (in Italian). Angri: Gaia.
• Fortunato, Teobaldo, ed. (2006). Nuceria, scritti in onore di Raffaele Pucci (in Italian). Postiglione (SA).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Moiraghi, Mario (2005). L'Italiano che fondò i Templari. Hugo de Paganis cavaliere di Campania (in Italian). Edizioni Ancora. ISBN 978-8851402792. See interview with Moiraghi
• Orlando, Gennaro (1888). Storia di Nocera de' Pagani (in Italian). Naples.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Rotundo, Domenico (1983). Templari, misteri e cattedrali (in Italian). Rome. p. 38. ISBN 9788865010006. Retrieved 24 November 2023. Ho scritto a mio padre in Nocera che mi faccia gratia venire a Rossano per consolare V.S. et a Madama Zia Hippolita{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Silvestri, Salvatore (1993). S. Egidio tra storia e leggenda. Appunti, ipotesi e documenti dal 216 a.C. al 1946 (in Italian).
• Silvestri, Salvatore; Vollaro, Salvatore (2001). S. Egidio, S. Lorenzo e Corbara. La storia e le famiglie (in Italian).
• Silvestri, Salvatore (2010). S. Egidio. Un luogo chiamato Preturo (in Italian). Edizioni Gaia. ISBN 978-88-89821-75-6.