Santa Maria Capua Vetere. The Campanian Amphitheater

2023

The Campanian Amphitheater or Capuano Amphitheater is a Roman amphitheater located in the city of Santa Maria Capua Vetere - coinciding with the ancient Capua - second in size only to the Colosseum in Rome. It is located within the municipal area of Santa Maria Capua Vetere, facing Piazza I Ottobre. A substantial part of its stones were used by the Capuans in the Norman era to erect the Castle of the Stones of the city of Capua; some of his ornamental busts, used in the past as keystones for the theater arches, were placed on the facade of the Town Hall of Capua.

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Teano. Convent of Santa Reparata

It is one of the most important convents in Teano, also because inside the building there are the remains of the Saint who is the Coopatrona of Teano, as well as the patron saint of Florence.

Teano. The Dome. The Chapel of San Paride

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.

The Royal Palace of Caserta

The Royal Palace of Caserta is a royal palace, with an adjoining park, located in Caserta. It is the largest royal residence in the world by volume and the historical owners were the Bourbons of Naples, as well as a short period in which it was inhabited by the Murat.

Teano, Campania. The church of San Pietro in Aquariis

It would be built on the ruins of ancient Roman baths. Currently it is no longer used for worship and could be more valued for civic uses as an attractant for the entire country.

Roccamonfina, sanctuary of Maria SS dei Lattani

The sanctuary of Maria Santissima dei Lattani is a Marian sanctuary located in the territory of the municipality of Roccamonfina, in Campania, the place of death of the bishop Giacinto Tamburini. The sanctuary was founded in 1430 by San Bernardino da Siena and San Giacomo della Marca, who had arrived there following the news of the discovery of a statue of the Virgin in the same or the previous year. A first rural chapel was built, then a first church, enlarged shortly after in its present form between 1448 and 1507. In 1446 Pope Eugene IV entrusted the convent, which had risen in the meantime, to the Franciscans. In March 1970 the sanctuary was elevated by Pope Paul VI to the dignity of a minor basilica. The buildings of the sanctuary open onto a large internal courtyard, opening onto the panorama. It is overlooked by the church, the convent and a building built at the time of its foundation, called "Protoconventino" or "hermitage of San Bernardino", recently restored in its original form. The facade of the church, preceded by a large porch with a round arch, preserves the original wooden door of 1507. The interior, with a single nave, divided into spans by pillars that support the cross vault with a lowered pointed arch, preserves 15th and 18th century frescoes and Gothic windows with polychrome stained glass. On the left opens the chapel dedicated to the Virgin of the Lattani, with a frescoed dome, which houses a statue of the Madonna and Child in basalt stone, covered with polychrome painting, perhaps attributable to the 9th century. The convent has a façade with arched portico and inside a rectangular cloister with pointed arches supported by small columns, of various shapes, on two floors. There are 17th century frescoes painted by his father Tommaso di Nola. The refectory opens onto the cloister. The so-called "Protoconventino" building overlooks the internal courtyard with a two-storey loggia, open to the valley with windows, the lower one decorated with a rose window. In the courtyard there is also a stone fountain and on the side facing the mountain a fifteenth-century fountain decorated in 1961 by a representation on colored ceramic.

Teano. The Cathedral. The main facade

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.

Borgonuovo. Teano

Borgonuovo di Teano, Campania. Sanctuary of Maria Santissima della Libera

Vairano Patenora (CE), the Aragonese Castle

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 Avalos castle of Vairano Patenora

The Avalos castle of Vairano Patenora is a square-shaped building with stone perimeter walls and four cylindrical corner towers. it was built by Ripandulf VI in the 11th century.

Caserta, the Royal Palace

The Royal Palace of Caserta is a royal residence, historically belonging to the Bourbons of the Two Sicilies, located in Caserta. Commissioned by Charles of Bourbon, the laying of the first stone, which started the construction work, took place on January 20, 1752, based on a project by Luigi Vanvitelli: this was followed by his son Carlo and other architects. The palace was completed in 1845.

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