Buccino
The relationship between Hofheim am Taunus and Buccino had already developed over a number of years through private contacts between German and Italian citizens. Over the course of time, it was consolidated through school exchanges, family contacts and visits from clubs.
On October 31, 2008, the town twinning was officially sealed after the two town parliaments agreed to the twinning.
The town of Buccino is located in the Campania region, between the provincial capital of Salerno and Potenza, covers an area of around 60 square kilometers and has a population of around 6,000. There are kindergartens, all types of schools including a grammar school, which is attended by 600 pupils who also come from neighboring towns, as well as sports facilities, rail and freeway connections and much more.
Jobs can be found in the industrial area as well as in agriculture, the main branch of which is the production of olive oil: ten oil presses are in operation at harvest time.
Tourism also plays a role. Buccino is rich in evidence from the past. The great earthquake in 1980 destroyed 90 percent of the old town. Numerous archaeological finds from the VII to IV century BC were and are still being made during the clearing and reconstruction.
Today, a walk through the municipal archaeological park in Via Santo Spirito reveals temple foundations from the middle of the 1st century BC, one of the oldest floor mosaics in Italy in the consecrated area of Santo Stefano, a Roman road, the Norman castle and much more.
Further information can be found on the homepage of the Förderkreis Hofheimer Städtepartnerschaften (FHS):
Buccino - Citizens' meetings
People from Hofheim tell their stories about their experiences in Tiverton.
With the words "Benvenuti a Buccino", the newly elected mayor Pasquale Freda welcomed the guests from Hofheim. A delegation of 20 people visited the Italian twin town from September 29 to October 3, 2023.
The local elections in Buccino were only a few months ago, so the Hofheimers were interested to get to know the new mayor and the changes in the city administration. But of course it was also a great pleasure to see long-time companions of the town twinning again. First and foremost the chairwoman of the "Amici di Hofheim", Teresa d'Acunto.
Together with the Buccino speakers Patrizia Bruni and Giuseppe (Pepi) Carleo, she provided a very informative and varied program on site. A guided tour in Buccino through the "Marcello Gigante" museum and through the old town, the ancient Volcei, provided deeper impressions of life in our twin town and this region of southern Italy in the past and today.
The following day, the visit to the Benedictine abbey at Cava de' Tirreni was met with great interest. The monastery with the illustrious name "Abbazia territoriale della Santissima Trinità di Cava de' Tirreni" is located on a hill about three kilometers from the town of Cava de' Tirreni, for which the abbey was the starting point for development. The location below a grotto and the size of the monastery, whose foundations rest on Roman buildings, are particularly impressive. In the town of Cava de' Tirreni, which is also well worth a visit, there was an opportunity for a short tour with a snack. In Vietri, the gateway to the Amalfi Coast, which is not far away, the view over the Mediterranean was breathtaking. At sunset, a typical Italian dinner was prepared in the outdoor restaurant by the sea together with the Italian hosts.
In addition to a variety of sights, such as the large cathedral, Salerno was particularly impressive the next day with its historic city center and the multitude of fashion stores, boutiques, delicatessens and cafés. Quite a few of the participants had been looking forward to this shopping opportunity and quickly found what they were looking for.
The official farewell evening was hosted by the town of Buccino, which also provided musical entertainment. Pasquale Freda was delighted that the two towns have now been linked for 15 years and reiterated his desire to continue supporting the twinning meetings. Teresa d'Acunto also emphasized once again the importance of the partnership, especially in today's world. Mayor Vogt and the deputy chairman of the Hofheim Town Twinning Association (FHS) Hans-Jürgen Koblitz expressed their thanks on behalf of the Hofheim delegation. In his speech, Hofheim Mayor Vogt pointed out a parallel between himself and his colleague in Buccino: Both took office on a 13th. While in Germany this day is associated with many misfortunes, in Italy it is considered a lucky day. So he also wants to see his assumption of office on a Friday the 13th in September 2019 as a lucky day. In Italy, Friday or Tuesday the 17th is considered an unlucky day: "Nè di Venere, nè di Marte, nè si sposa, nè si parte". So don't travel or come back on these days, and don't get married or divorced.
The delegation wants to pay attention to this on their next trip. But they definitely want to come back. Molte grazie!
by Matthias Hees
Via Hofheim in Buccino
A delegation from the city of Hofheim and the Förderkreis Hofheimer Städtepartnerschaften e.V. visited the twin town of Buccino from April 21 to 25, 2022. The aim of this trip was to name the street "Via Hofheim" in the center of Buccino.
After arriving at Naples airport, we were greeted by our member Giuseppe Carleo.
After boarding the bus, we immediately set off in cool weather on narrow roads towards Vesuvius. From the parking lot, it was about half an hour's steep climb to the crater rim. A strong wind was blowing against us. The climb and the view were a moving experience.
We then drove to Buccino, frozen but in high spirits. After checking into our hotel rooms at the beautiful Hotel Elia, we all met up again for dinner at the hotel. We were joined by the representatives of the municipality of Buccino and our partner association "Ammici di Hofheim". It was a lovely evening together, characterized by the joy of reunion and interesting conversations.
On Friday after breakfast, our bus driver Giulio took us to the "Oasi con le cascate I capelli di Venere" waterfall. This attraction has been declared a World Heritage Site and has been beautifully restored with EU funding. The rainy weather was followed by an extensive lunch nearby.
The evening ended with another meeting and dinner together at the hotel.
Saturday was the big day for which we had all traveled to Buccino. As part of a walk through the old town center of Buccino, several squares and streets were named after deserving citizens of the municipality of Buccino. The descendants of these citizens had the opportunity to say a few words about the lives of their ancestors.
The last event was the naming of Via Hofheim. The new street sign and an information board were ceremoniously unveiled. Via Hofheim stretches from the old town center near the old church towards the town hall and is approximately 350 meters long.
This was followed by a tour of the Isoldi company. This company produces high-quality olive oil. This was an opportunity to stock up on supplies for home. At the same time, some visited the "Carlo Levi" museum, which was set up by a foundation.
Following this visit, we gathered for a light lunch in the beautiful courtyard of the town hall at around 2 pm. After a short break, we went to the town hall meeting room. Here we witnessed the honoring of living, deserving citizens of the town of Buccino. They were named honorary citizens.
During this event, the representatives of our delegation also had the opportunity to pay tribute to the importance of the town twinning and to focus on new projects.
On Sunday, after breakfast, we went on an excursion to the nearby town of San Gregorio Magno. Here, young people have come together to produce and market local organic food products. Parts of the old town have been beautifully and lavishly restored for this purpose. The production of honey, ricotta etc. was explained to us. There was also a tasting of the products made there and of local wine.
It was a very interesting trip which, in addition to seeing old friends again, also opened up new perspectives for the expansion of the town twinning with Buccino.
Many thanks also go to our hosts in Buccino and we all hope to see them again soon, either for the youth project at the beginning of June or for the anniversary celebrations at the end of June, for which a delegation is expected.
by Stephan Reimer & Sylvia Borroni-Reimer
On August 27, 40 participants from Hofheim, including the current mayor Christian Vogt, departed from Rhein-Main Airport for Naples.
After arriving in Buccino, the group was welcomed by the mayor Nicolo Parisi and the chairwoman of the "Associazione Amici di Hofheim" Mrs. D'Acunto at the Elia Hotel. The tour group then split up, with some going to their hosts' private accommodation and the others staying at the hotel.
On Wednesday, 28 August, an excursion to Paestum was organized. Some went to the beach for a swim, while the more culturally inclined visited the archaeological park with its ancient sites and museum. After lunchtime, everyone drove together to Santa Maria di Castellabate, a well-known vacation and seaside resort in Cilento.
On Thursday, August 29, the tour group traveled by bus to the famous Costiera Amalfitana and then took an excursion boat from Salerno along the coast, first to Positano and finally to Amalfi.
On Friday, August 30, the group was taken to the "Oasi naturale Valle della Caccia". The Valle della Caccia natural oasis is a nature reserve covering around 450 hectares and is located not far from Buccino in the municipality of Senerchia. After the 2 km walk, everyone had dinner together in a "forest inn". In the evening of that day, a festive dinner was organized with music and many speeches. In particular, the outgoing mayor Giesela Stang (who symbolically received the key from Buccino) and the head of the town council Andreas Hegeler were honored by the hosts and presented with gifts on their behalf.
Günter Oswald and Andreas Hegeler also presented gifts from Hofheim to the hosts. The evening ended well into the night with a good atmosphere throughout.
On Saturday, 31 August, the program included a guided tour of the "Museo e Parco Archeologico Urbano M. Gigante" and a tour of Buccino. As a special surprise, pupils from the "German class" of the Liceo-Buccino had prepared explanations of individual sights and the history of Buccino.
Another surprise was the announcement that the old, stepped street leading from the edge of the new town center to the upper, historic old town will be named "VIA HOFHEIM" next year. After a break, the bus took us to the neighboring municipality of San Gregorio Magno in the afternoon for a guided tour of the old village and a tasting of local wines.
Another highlight of this year's trip was the joint trip (on Sunday, September 1) to Matera (the European Capital of Culture 2019) and "World Heritage Site of Humanity" since 1993. After a 2-hour guided tour through the old Matera, the la Citta dei Sassi and lunch, we had time to explore the city ourselves.
On Monday, September 2nd, we visited the "Grotta di Pertosa-Auletta", a complex of extensive and branched stalactite caves. Back in Buccino, our "amici" surprised us with a delicious lunch in the cloister of the museum/town hall. The remaining afternoon and evening were free for everyone to relax and pack their bags.
On the day of departure, Tuesday, September 3, there was still plenty of time left before we left for Naples. So we went to the neighboring mountain village of Romagnano al Monte and then went to the weekly market in Buccino. Then it was off to the bus and Naples for our departure to Frankfurt. However, due to the cancellation of the scheduled flight, the flight did not take place until the next day, which almost all of our fellow travelers were able to cope with.
This was the motto under which 14 students boarded the plane to Naples on the last day of school, accompanied by Catia Dale and Ingrid Bender from the Förderkreis Hofheimer Städtepartnerschaften e.V.. With some delays, partly due to an unplanned tire change, the arrival in the twin town of Buccino was very late, rather early in the morning on Saturday. We had learned the day before that there was school in Buccino on Saturday, so the night was very short.
We started at 8:20 a.m. with a visit to the various German classes at Liceo Assteas with German teacher Ms. Ruggiero. Here we were able to see and hear how the German language is taught in Italy. The Italian pupils introduced themselves in German, the pupils from Hofheim tried their hand at Italian and so a little Italian was learned in a playful way. A buffet, prepared by the hosts, gave a first impression of Italian cuisine. In the room were posters from German lessons about Leibniz cookies, typical German dishes such as schnitzel and spaetzle and the Steiff bear.
On Sunday, with glorious weather and pleasant temperatures of 25 degrees, we and an Italian group took the bus to Salerno, then changed to the boat that took us to Amalfi. In Amalfi, the students were able to explore the town in small groups and see and test everything to do with lemons, such as soap, sorbet, chocolate, clothing, towels and much more.
St. Andrew's Cathedral in Amalfi was also worth a visit. Andreas Cathedral in Amalfi was also worth a visit, as Amalfi was one of the four most powerful maritime empires, which maintained relations with many countries in the Middle Ages until 1135, especially with areas in the east and around the Maghreb.
In the afternoon, we stopped off in Salerno and, unexpectedly, some stores were open, so shopping was the order of the day. An Italian-style birthday cake was waiting for Helena in Buccino, who turned 16 that day.
Monday began with lessons in German and our students were able to present the scenes they had rehearsed, as well as a very good crossword puzzle about sports and school subjects. The English teacher, Ms. Lordi, talked about prejudices. For example, do Germans always eat schnitzel and wear white socks in sandals or do Italians only eat pasta and are always late?
On Tuesday, a visit to the town of Buccino was on the agenda. Starting with a steep walk up to the town, we were greeted by Ms. Trimarco. We presented her with a painting of all the twin towns, which was painted in Hofheim by pupils from all the twin towns and, of course, pupils from Buccino were also involved. Afterwards, pupils from German class 4 showed us around the town and lectured in German about the old excavations of the Volcei and the newly built street that is to be named after our town of Hofheim. Finally, we reached the castle of Buccino and had a wonderful panoramic view. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time for the museum as we had to catch the school bus.
On Wednesday, we were allowed into the school's computer room and worked on our photos and a flyer, which still needs to be edited and will then go to print. Another walk with Mrs. D'Acunto in the other part of the city showed us the former aristocratic part with very beautiful houses. A cheerful evening in a pizzeria with pizzas of all kinds, with chips, potatoes and mushrooms and even with Nutella, rounded off our stay.
On Thursday, it was time to say goodbye and some of us found it difficult, as we had gradually become accustomed to each other. An invitation to a youth project for next year in June was extended and everyone hopes to see each other again.
For older reports, please contact the "Town Twinning" team or visit www.fhs-online.de.