ALIFE, Diocese of. - In the Campanian region, in the province of Benevento, suffragan of Benevento. It has 19 parishes, 32 diocesan priests and 7 regulars; 35,000 inhabitants, all Catholic; area of the diocese: 400 sq km. Residence: Piedimonte d'Alife, an Oscan city, then Samnite, taken, lost and retaken by the Romans, flourishing under the empire, sacked and destroyed by the Saracens. Having passed under various feudal lords, it was, in 1135, stormed and razed to the ground by Roger II.

The erection of the bishopric is traced back to 314, but the first bishop whose name is known is a Clarus of 499. The regular series begins with Alferius, ordained in 1252. In 1818 the diocese was suppressed; reestablished in 1820 and united with Telese, it was, in 1852, again separated. Within the territory of the diocese there once flourished the abbeys of S. Salvatore, S. Spirito, SS. Maria and Pietro, S. Agostino, S. Simeone, S. Maria Maddalena.

Traces of its ancient splendor remain in the remnants of the temples, the Roman walls and baths, and the theater of the Antonine era. The cathedral of S. Sisto has a crypt of the 11th century and a bell tower with Roman inscriptions in the cornice and in the base.

Bibliography6 works

BIBL.: Ughelli, VIII, coll. 206-212; Cappelletti, XIX, pp. 89-115; Lanzoni, p. 378; Eubel, I, p. 69; II, p. 79; G. Frankin, s. v., in DHC, I, coll. 450-53.

Noemi Crostarossa Scipioni

@incollection{ec1_alife_diocesi_di, author = {Crostarosa, Scipioni Noemi}, title = {Alife, diocesi di}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {I}, pages = {884--885}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1948}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/alife-diocesi-di} }

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Alife, Diocese of

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