Identity: from the Samnites to the Lombard principality and the papal centuries
The municipality's history page tells Benevento as a Samnite centre, a Roman colony, the capital of a Lombard duchy and then principality, a papal city until 1860, and a city heavily hit by the 1943 bombings. The boar from the legend of Diomedes appears on the municipal coat of arms.
Sections: Geography · History · Population · Languages · Time zone · Public holidays
Origins and name
According to the municipality, the first Samnite settlement stood in contrada Cellarulo, where the Sabato and Calore rivers meet. The Romans read a «malum eventum» (bad outcome) in the original name, Maloenton; after the victory over Pyrrhus the city became Beneventum, a name of good omen, and in 268 BC a Roman colony. Legend credits the foundation to the Greek hero Diomedes: the Calydonian boar linked to the myth still appears on the municipal coat of arms.
Lombards and the Papacy
The Lombards founded the duchy of Benevento in 571; after 774 Arechis II proclaimed himself prince and had the church of Santa Sofia built. From 1077 the city passed under papal rule, governed by rectors: after a 14th-century revolt the pope had the Rocca dei Rettori built as their seat. In 1266 the battle in which Manfred of Swabia died was fought near Benevento. The page also recalls the legend of the witches and the walnut tree, which arose in the Middle Ages from ancient Lombard rites. Papal rule ended on 3 September 1860 and a province was created around Benevento.
The 20th century
Because of its central position on the railway links between Rome and Apulia, the city was heavily bombed by the Allies in 1943, starting on 21 August; on 15 September five waves of bombing razed piazza Duomo and piazza Orsini. The municipal page speaks of two thousand civilian deaths.
Data
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-22
Reviewed: 10/23/2026 · by piero.avolio · rev. 1 · Period: → 2027-10-31
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