The Afragola City Council decided to put Afragola on the Internet. They created the Afragola Internet Civic Net. It’s purpose was to provide and to maintain a service, make it more informative and able to support anyone, whether citizen of Afragola or not, who may discover the existence of the town. Thanks to this service, it is possible to access most public services and to be constantly updated on anything ‘happening in town'.
A presence on the Internet provides accessibility to Afragola worldwide. It has opened a 'window for the world' through which it is possible to discover a vast artistic and architectural inheritance as well as a reality rich in culture and traditions.
The etymology (history) of the name Afragola is controversial; the first document containing some references to it was discovered by the researcher Bartolomeo Capasso, dated 1131 and mentions the name Afraore; subsequently it became Afragone, Afraolla, Fraolla, Afrangola until the definitive Afragola in 1272. Some researchers believe that the 'A' in Afragola means 'without strawberries' (fragola in Italian means strawberry); others, instead, attribute a different meaning to it as 'a land rich with strawberries'. The more creditable theory is the latter due to the fact that the civic coat of arms, in gold, bears a hand carrying a strawberry plant.
According to tradition, the town was founded in 1140 by Roger the Norman who divided the area amongst his soldiers, granting each one of them five 'moggia' of land plus five farmers employing serfs. In reality, at the time, some of the villages that constituted Afragola were already inhabited, as stated in a document dated 1025. Several studies and archaeological discoveries indicate that the territory had been populated by people known as ‘pagi osco-sanniti’ since IV - III century B.C
After the XII century, Afragola had a major demographic growth and, with the arrival of the Angioini dynasty, a part of it became a feudal territory of Bernardo Caracciolo, Archbishop of Naples and, in 1386, of the Bozzuto family.
In 1575, the University of Afragola, with the payment of 27 thousand dukedoms to the regal government, released the feudal territory, giving freedom back to the town. In 1639, in order to avoid another sale by the Duke of Medina, Viceroy of Naples, the hamlet was forced to pay a further large sum.
However, by the end of 1600, Afragola was still administered by a vice regal governor whose presence meant that the civic autonomy of the town was nominal in practice.
In 1737, a 'Code of Afragola' was drafted which included nine laws subsequently engraved on a marble plate currently displayed at the entrance of the Town Hall. Only in 1809, after the changes brought by the French revolution, was an autonomous civic administration established with notary Cesare Castaldo as first citizen. The first housing settlements in Afragola were developed around the three most ancient sacred buildings in existence: Saint Mary of Ajello, St. George and St. Mark in Sylvis.
From the seventeenth century, the following types of residence were found in Afragola: ·
Although it is very hard to find traces of the first two examples, it is still possible, instead, to admire numerous high-class buildings typical of the eighteenth and nineteenth century style as well as fine examples of neo-classical architecture
The Town Hall: typical nineteenth century style with an irregular rectangular plan and central courtyard at the rear. The architects Carlo Ciaramella and Francis Danise completed this building in 1880.
The Church of Saint Mary of Ajello: the first signs of construction date to 1131 and the subsequent reconstructions and transformations, such as the construction of two side aisles added to the original structure in 1583 and the placement of paintings by Angelo Mozzillo and Criscuolo in 1780, show how the building reflected the development of the town from poor country village to wealthy commercial settlement.
Church of St. George: named in a document dated 1131, the church was reconstructed both in 1380 and also in the eighteenth century following the destruction that occurred during an earthquake in 1688. The reconstruction took several years; in 1741 the architect Blasotti designed the dome and, as per Groffedo's plans, a three-storey bell tower was built in 1772. The building is decorated by works by Mozzillo, Cimino and some of Murillo's students.
Church of St. Mark in Sylvis: built around 1179 as per William II the Good's wish, it still retains the original square plan bell tower with octagonal peak and several frescos.
Church of the St. Rosary: inside this 1602 building, it is possible to admire some fine examples of majolica floors, a marble baluster of exquisite workmanship as well as a painting by Lanfranco.
Church of St. Antony: built in 1633, it is run by Friars Minor. The church is adorned by frescos by Severino and by polychrome marble from the eighteenth century. In the first chapel on the left it is possible to admire an exquisite crucifix in wood from the thirteenth century.
The statue of St. Antony, venerated by the citizens of Afragola as well as the inhabitants of the whole province, is a masterpiece in wood from the eighteenth century.
Every year, on June 13th, a weeklong celebration takes place in honour of St. Antony of Padua, the Patron Saint of the town. The statue is processed through the town and every evening it is placed inside the Church situated in Piazza Municipio.
The culmination is reached on the final day, with the spectacular “retreat”.
The procession, led by both civil and religious authorities, is attended every year by around ten thousand believers and celebrated with fireworks and music. It winds itself along the narrow streets of the town in a solemn atmosphere, until the crowd breaks out into an enthusiastic applause upon the reach of the Sanctuary, where the Saint will be venerated for the rest of the year.
The Italian surname Sepe is of two distinct origins. One is agriculturaI and/or botanical, deriving from the term "siepe", meaning "hedge". The word "siepe" derives from the Latin "saepes', meaning "fence", originating in turn from the verb "saepere', meaning "to enclose". In this case the surname Sepe indicates that the original bearer was known by a special fence that surrounded his place of abode or his land.
The other origin of the surname Sepe is a name derived usually by the addition of an “affix. The scholar Emidio De Felice, an authority on Italian surnames, writes that the name Sepe derives, by the shortening from Giusepe, a variant of the name Giuseppe, Joseph in English. The personal name Giuseppe derives from the Hebrew "Joseph", which means "to add", with the wishful meaning of "may God add (more children to this family)". In this instance the name Sepe would mean "son of Giuseppe". The latter is the name of various saints of the Catholic Church, including St. Joseph the husband of the Virgin Mary or St. Joseph from Cupertino. In medieval times parents were encouraged to name their children after a saint, in the hope of thus evoking the protection of that particular saint or inheriting some of his virtues.
Variants of the surname Sepe are Sepa and Sepi. Another scholar, Joseph G. Fucilla, tells us that this surname is found mainly in the region of Lucania and in particular in Ginestra, Potenza, Rapolla and Venosa and also in Naples (Region of Campania) and in Taranto (Region ofPugIie). A family by the surname of Sepi is quoted in the "Codice Baress” for the year 1206.
TRANSLATION:............Azure (blue) signifies Truth and Loyalty.
CREST:.......................An eagle displayed sadie, crowned proper
ORIGIN:.......................Italy
BLAZON OF ARMS:.....Azure; a bend argent between two mullets of the same.
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