Nocera dei Pagani

• Name — Nocera dei Pagani • Official Name — Nuceria Paganorum • Region — Campania • Province — Province of Salerno • Area Total Km2 — 62 • Population Demonym — Nucerian • Saint — St. Alphonse • Day — 1 August • Postal Code — 84010; 84014 to 84016

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 until 309 BC, when it joined the Samnites in revolt. 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 the Battle of Cannae. In 216 BC Hannibal weakened the town by starvation, then destroyed it. The inhabitants returned when peace was restored. During the Social War, it remained loyal to Rome. In 73 BC it was plundered by Spartacus.

In the Middle Ages (around the 9th century) a small colony of Saracens was introduced in the annexed territory of modern-day 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. The town was described as "a genuine Muhammadan town with all its characteristic mosques and minarets." It is said that, through their darker complexion and features, the townsfolk maintain the heritage of these Muslim settlers. After the mid-9th century the town was part of the principality of Salerno first, and then of the principality of Capua.

The House of Pagano, an ancient noble family of local lords living in the castle of Cortimpiano (Curtis in Plano), in the territory of Pagani, apparently took this surname from the Saracens (referred to as "pagans") who previously inhabited the area. • Illustration — Commentaries on the life of Gelasius II, pontiff between 1118 and 1119. A family member named Ugo dei Pagani (Hugo de Paganis) is credited as a crusader knight and founder of the Knights Templar. Reference to Nocera as his birthplace is found in the works of Filiberto Campanile (1610), Antonino Amico (1636), Costantino Gaetani (1638), Blaise François de Pagan (1669), Pierre Dupuy (1654), and Bernardo Giustinian (1692), among others. Mentions of Nocera as his birthplace also appear in Baedeker's Italy: handbook for travellers. Part 3 (1869) and in the Old Catholic Encyclopedia (Volume 11) published by Robert Appleton Company in 1911. Multiple authors have stated that this claim is also supported by a letter Hugo supposedly 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. In addition, the Templar cross appears to have been inspired by Paleochristian art found in the Early Christian Baptistery of Nocera.

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. In 1385 Pope Urban VI was besieged in the city castle by Charles III of Naples. In the 15th century the town name was changed to Nuceria Paganorum in honor of 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 • San Matteo — * Nocera Inferiore • Tre Casali — * Nocera Inferiore • Sperandei — * Nocera Inferiore • Pucciano — * 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 it of Pagani; Sperandei merged into San Matteo Tre Casali, forming the it 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 it, but fourteen districts of Nocera Corpo (including Pucciano) later asked for self-administration, which was granted by decree No. 1960 on 11 November 1850, with effect from 1 January 1851; thus were born the contemporary it of Nocera Superiore (corresponding to most of Nocera Corpo) and Nocera Inferiore (formerly Nocera San Matteo).