Historical Re-enactment of the Parthenopean Revolution (1799)

A town that turns into an open-air theater

There is a date that Marzano di Nola could never forget: April 26, 1799. On that day, in the heat of the Parthenopean Revolution, the small village at the foot of the Monti di Lauro paid for its resistance to the advancing French troops with eleven lives. Today, that memory is not left only to a plaque or a street name: once a year, this municipality in the Province of Avellino, in Campania, transforms into an open-air theater and re-enacts the most intense hours of that day, street by street.

The Historical Re-enactment of the Parthenopean Revolution is promoted by the Pro Marzano cultural association with the patronage and support of the Municipality of Marzano di Nola. It is not a theatrical performance in the strict sense: it is a community journey where costumed performers, blank shots, readings, and historical narratives intertwine with the actual locations where the events took place.

What happened on April 26, 1799

In April 1799, the French cavalry led by General Giuseppe Schipani moved up from Sarno towards the Vallo di Lauro. Marzano, loyal to King Ferdinand IV and hostile to the newly formed Neapolitan Republic, decided not to let the column pass. The men of the town gathered in front of the parish church, where the parish priest Don Venanzio della Pietra—who had served in Marzano since 1788—blessed them and handed them a red damask cloth to be used as a flag.

The resistance was organized around the Torre, the ancient medieval structure that guarded the entrance to the town along the current SS 403 road. After a few hours of fighting, the insurgents were overwhelmed. Eleven people fell in the massacre: in addition to Don Venanzio della Pietra, Onofrio Andreoli, Emanuele Recupido, Santolo Graziano, Domenico Addeo, Giovanni Corbisiero, Angelo Ariano, Raffaele Ariano, Salvatore Ariano, Giovanni Manna, and Lorenzo Corbisiero. It is to them that the re-enactment is dedicated.

An itinerary through the real places of history

The format chosen by the organizers is itinerant: the audience does not remain seated but walks along with the performers. The route crosses the key points of the event:

• Piazza Marconi, the civic heart of the town and gathering place;
• the Torre area, where the armed defense against the French cavalry was concentrated;
• via Don Venanzio della Pietra, the street named after the murdered priest.

Along the way, living tableaux, reconstructions of the clashes, and moments of storytelling alternate. The choice of an evening time, with dusk falling over the village, enhances the emotional impact of the narrative.

The Antico Gruppo Avancarica Baianese

The true hallmark of the event is the presence of the Antico Gruppo Avancarica Baianese, an association from Baiano with over thirty years of experience, among the most solid and recognized entities in the local historical re-enactment scene. The group brings costumes, muzzle-loading weapons, and performance styles that have remained substantially unchanged over time, ensuring a level of philological rigor that goes far beyond simple costumed acting. Its participation in Marzano di Nola has been hailed by the local press as a significant return outside the Baiano territory, in the spirit of spreading culture and historical memory.

School within the re-enactment

A delegation of students from the Istituto Omnicomprensivo «Benedetto Croce» also takes part in the event. This is a deliberate choice: the re-enactment is not intended to be just an event for visitors, but an educational tool that reconnects new generations to the roots of the territory. The students do not just watch history; they walk through it—and this, in a town of just over 1,500 inhabitants, makes the difference between a tradition that survives and one that fades away.

Marzano di Nola, between Irpinia and the Agro Nolano

Marzano di Nola is a small Irpinian town nestled between the Vallo di Lauro and the Nola plain, in a cultural border zone between Irpinia and the Vesuvius area. Its iconic monument remains the Torre, whose construction dates back to around 1300: likely built as a lookout structure connected to the Lancellotti Castle in Lauro, it passed over the centuries to the Orsini, Sanseverino, Pignatelli, and finally the Lancellotti families. Those who arrive for the re-enactment thus discover an authentic village, far from mass tourism circuits.