Avellino

Avellino stands in a valley of the southern Apennines, east of Naples. Its castle and cathedral overlook the surrounding hills and the roads through Irpinia. In 1581 Marino Caracciolo purchased the city from the Neapolitan royal court, beginning a long period of rule by his family. The seat of the provincial court was moved to nearby Montefusco in the same year.

The plague of 1656 brought severe danger to Avellino. Its lord Francesco Marino Caracciolo issued restrictions on travel and the reception of strangers in an effort to contain the disease. Such measures could not remove the epidemic, but they show the attempts of a feudal government to protect the town during a crisis that struck much of the Kingdom of Naples.