The area was given its modern name in 1080 , when Robert Guiscard confirmed to the Catholic Church of Salerno the possession of lands between the Sele river and the Tusciano river . It is generally believed that the name ' Battipaglia ' is formed by the union of the terms '' batti '' ( to thresh ) and '' paglia '' ( to straw ) , owing to the activity of peasants in the past . However , some scholars hypothesize that the name could come from ' Baptipalla ' , which would indicate a place devoted to Voltumna , a chthonic Etruscan deity . Battipaglia was officially created by Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies as an agricultural colony in 1858 , as the Bourbon authorities chose the place as the site of an agricultural colony where families who had survived the 1857 Basilicata earthquake could be rehoused . It was eventually granted the status of independent municipality by a Royal Decree on March 28 , 1929 ( during the Mussolini Cabinet ) , comprising parts of the territories previously included in the municipalities of Eboli and Montecorvino Rovella
1857 Basilicata earthquake
1857 Basilicata earthquake
Battipaglia