Paduli

Paduli is a comune in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania. It is located on a rocky spur between the Calore and Tammaro rivers, about 60 km northeast of Naples and about 9 km northeast of Benevento.

It is theorized that Paduli was the ancient Roman settlement of Batulum. The most likely theory regarding the origin of the name "Paduli" proposes the name "Batulum" changed to "Padulum", which in Vulgar Latin meant "marsh". It is from "padulem" that the Italian term "padule" - the plural form of which is "paduli" - is derived. Indeed, the identification of Paduli as Batulum comes from the similarly hilled and swampy environment both areas are known to have occupied, and the earliest confirmed mention of Paduli records the town's name as "Padule". Furthermore, the Italian settlement of Colle Sannita, around 10 miles from Paduli, preserves an ancient name for the general area of Benevento it occupies called "Padula" - which also means "marsh" or "swamp".

Wikipedia