Francolise, Santa Maria a Castello

The Matese regional park is a protected natural area in Campania. Established with regional law n. 33 of 1993 came into operation only in 2002. The park covers an area of ​​33,326.53 hectares. The Matese park was established with the Campania regional law n. 33 of 1 September 1993 entitled "Establishment of parks and nature reserves in Campania". Due to the lack of approval of the implementing rules of regional law n. 33 of 1993, the park came into operation only in 2002. The reference standard is the resolution of the Campania Regional Council no. 1407 of 12 April 2002. Since 2006, the Matese Regional Park Authority has been based in San Potito Sannitico, in the province of Caserta. The park's first president was Giuseppe Scialla, a university professor and environmentalist. Following the revision of the Italian budget law 2018, the rule was approved that contemplates the future transformation of the Matese park into a national park, with probable involvement of the provinces of Isernia and Campobasso. The territory of the park mainly includes the Matese mountain massif. The highest mountains, of limestone nature, are Mount Mutria, Mount Gallinola and Mount Miletto. The park takes its name from the Matese lake. Another important lake is that of Letino. The park is crossed by two important rivers: the Titerno river and the Tammaro river. The vegetation of the Matese massif is made up, in the lower area, of holm oaks, hornbeams, strawberry trees and other elements typical of the Mediterranean scrub; as you go up, these species are first replaced by Turkey oak and chestnut and by majestic and imposing beech trees. Here and there you can find wild rowan, maple, dogwood, ash, ash and silver fir. Among the numerous herbaceous plants of the clearings and the undergrowth we note the gentian, the foxglove and above all the omnipresent Sambucus ebulus, the most characteristic plant that accompanies the beech forest in the most open and luminous open spaces. The fauna of the massif is also very rich due to the presence of the three lakes (del Matese, di Gallo, di Letino). In addition to the typical species of the broad-leaved forest (fox, marmot, badger, dormouse, great spotted woodpecker, tordella, jay, owl) there are also species of more open environments, such as hare and wild boar, or bare rocky crags such as the black redstart and the rare rock partridge. Among the exceptional presences we find the golden eagle that nests in the steep rocky walls of Valle dell'Inferno, but above all that of the wolf, regularly sighted in the municipalities of Letino and Gallo Matese. The presence of the lakes also favors the settlement of coots and ducks, herons and even storks. In the waters of these reservoirs we find carp, tench, perch, eel and pike, the three last species introduced by man.

The Belvedere of San Leucio is a monumental complex in that of Caserta, wanted by Charles of Bourbon, king of Naples and Sicily (and later king of Spain with the name of Charles III), which is considered, together with the Royal Palace of Caserta and all 'Vanvitelli Aqueduct, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Aragonese castle of Vairano was built on the remains of the Norman and Swabian ones between 1491 and 1503 by Innico II d'Avalos. It has four towers of which the largest, located to the south-east, is called "Torre mastra" and has an open atrium entrance. The interior is destroyed, but the subdivision of the floors, the kitchens, the prisons and the old cistern are still visible.

The cathedral, originally dedicated to San Terenziano, was later named after San Clemente. Construction began in 1050 by Bishop Guglielmo, to replace the old cathedral of San Paride ad Fontem, located outside the city walls. The works were completed in 1116 by Bishop Pandulfo. The building has a basilica structure divided into three naves by two rows of columns. In 1608 it was damaged internally by a fire that almost completely destroyed the cosmates ambo, subsequently recomposed using the remains of the previous one integrated with the marble slabs of a fourteenth-century sepulchral monument already present in the church and positioned on twisted columns, two of which rested on fountain lions. During the 16th century the Romanesque apse was modified and on that occasion a precious carved wooden choir was built in the presbytery, built in 1539 by the Benedictine Antonio Maria Sertorio. The choir underwent two restorations, the first in the 17th century and the second in 1957, following the damage suffered during the Second World War.

Built in the fourteenth century, in Gothic style, by the Conventual Minors it was extensively remodeled in the Baroque age. The magnificent gilded wooden ceiling with one hundred finely carved coffers, with outlines decorated with wreaths of painted roses, for the splendor of the gilded mass wins the comparison with many other similar works. The panel in the center of the ceiling (St. Francis and the council), in which the popes Pius XII, John XXIII and Paul VI and the late bishop of Teano Mons. Sperandeo are depicted, is a modern work by Augusto De Rose. On the entrance door there is a large canvas of the Immaculate Conception by Girolamo Cenatiempo (first half of the 18th century).

The military shrine of Mignano Montelungo is a military cemetery located in Campania, which contains the remains of 974 Italian soldiers, of which 784 who died during the Second World War in the battles of Montelungo and Cassino [1], while the rest come from the old cemetery of war of Mignano. Near Mignano Monte Lungo, between 8 and 16 December 1943, there was a battle between Italian regular units and the German army, in the liberation war of southern Italy. Built on the eastern slopes of Mount Lungo, it is about two kilometers from the municipality of Mignano Monte Lungo, in the province of Caserta, along the Via Casilina on the border with Lazio and Molise. From the entrance gate a staircase leads to the main building, at the center of which there is the main altar in dark marble, with a statue of a dying soldier, the work of the artist Pietro Canonica. On both sides the structure has a portico built in white marble. On the side of the altar there are two tombstones: one is dedicated to General Vincenzo Dapino, while on the other is the text of the congratulatory telegram from General Mark Clark to Dapino himself, for the victorious battle. The portico bears the inscription MORTUI UT PATRIA VIVAT and on the side of the access staircase, arranged in rows with shelves sloping towards the entrance, 784 soldiers who died fighting with the Italian Liberation Corps and with the Folgore Combat Groups, Legnano are buried , Mantua, Friuli and Cremona. Each tomb is marked with a white marble cross with the name carved on the tombstone. On the last shelf is the tomb of General Umberto Utili. Also on the side of the staircase there are two stone bases on which two flagpoles with the flags of the Combat Groups are placed. On the hill, on the vertical of the staircase, there is a bronze statue of the Immaculate Madonna. In the square of the Shrine, with a ray of orientation, the various locations where the various fights took place are indicated. In front of the Memorial, on the other side of Via Casilina, a small museum has been set up where it is possible to view various documents, photographs, relics and weapons of the time, outside it there are tanks and Italian artillery pieces and British employed in the battle.

The Monastery of S. Reparata, probably founded in the 9th century, was canonically suppressed after the Council of Trent, due to the prohibition against holding female monasteries outside the town. The nuns were welcomed in the Monastery of S. Caterina. The Monastery of S. Reparata is located along the road to Roccamonfina, in the Pino district and its foundation is not prior to 804 as it is not mentioned in the privilege of Charlemagne, which lists all the Benedictine possessions in Teano. The most probable date is the second half of the century. IX. According to the Bishop Mons. Domenico Giordano, the transfer of S. Reparata to the Cathedral took place in the year 880. It is one of the most important monasteries in Teano because the remains of Santa Reparata, who is the patron saint of Nice, are kept inside the church. his diocese, of the cities of Atri and Casoli; she co-patroness of Florence, of Teano, of the diocese of Teramo-Atri and patroness and protector of the municipality of Pesco Sannita.

The building of S. Paride is a church with a basilica structure with three naves, and termination with a semicircular apse. The facade, where it is possible to admire the building technique in tuff blocks arranged in regular rows, is characterized by the presence of two semi-columns in tuff on the sides of the portal, and a third in the right corner. The half-columns each rest on a pilaster, also in tuff. A fourth semi-column must have been present near the left corner, where there is still a Tuscan base still in tuff. These still retain the Corinthian capitals of reuse, also in local tuff. The entrance is rather simple, with a molded secmicircular frame supported by two shelves with inlaid motifs in plants. The marble frame still preserves the kyma lesbio decoration, followed by a curb with parallel lines and a second frame with denticles. The frame overlooks a lunette where traces of a fresco can no longer be read. The whole is surmounted by two mullioned windows. Internally, the naves are divided into six bays and separated by arches supported on each side by five quadrangular pillars. The light comes from the mullioned windows placed on the perimeter walls. A large opening, now flanked, also with a round arch, is visible along the left perimeter. The only piece of furniture is the so-called chair of S. Paride, made up of a reddish tuff block. The interior is rather simple, and still has a small crypt with burials in the crate.