The town was originally part of Samnium; the Samnite Wars came to an end in 293 BC with the Samnites' defeat by the Romans in the battle of Aquilonia nearby. Later the Lombards called the town Carbonara or Carunar because a major local occupation was charcoal making, but the original name was restored after the unification of Italy. On 23 July 1930 a major earthquake destroyed the town, and it was rebuilt at a higher location nearby.
A fictional kingdom of Aquilonia appears in the world of Conan the Barbarian.External link