Caserta and the surroundingsThe city of Caserta is only 15 minutes far from the Guardanapoli hotel. The visit of the city begins necessarily from Reggia di Caserta (Caserta Royal Palace) and its park, the second largest in Europe and surely one of the masterpieces of European art from the XVIII century. Everything has been written and said about the majesty of the palace. The building consists of 1200 rooms, 34 interior stairs, about 2000 windows, marbles, frescoes, tapestries, all done in a style sumptuous and elegant. Next to the Palace is the park of 120 hectares, with its vast number of fountains and gardens, with its age-old trees, artificial lakes and statues.
Walking down the streets of Caserta one can reach Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral) , the religious centre of the city, once called Largo dell’Annunziata, where there are the Cathedral, the Church of Carmine, the Convent of the Carmelites, the Church of San Sebastiano, one of the most ancient site of religious cult of the city, and the Chapel of San Giovanni (St. John). By proceeding through the streets there is Piazza Vanvitelli, the heart of the old village, around which was constituted the city. Here was the Baronial Palace, next to Lombard Tower; in front of the Palace there was the Market Square, today’s Piazza Vanvitelli, civil and commercial centre of the village, surrounded with luxury palaces, such as Castropignano, which is today the Town Hall.
Behind the royal park, on Mount Virgo, stands the medieval village of Casertavecchia, perfectly preserved with its portals, its lodges and its palaces built with black tuff. The most important monument is the Cathedral of St. Michele Arcangelo, finished in the 1153; the building has on the external front three portals of marble, with sculptures showing bulls, lions and horses. The style is heterogeneous with features coming from the Byzantine, Arab, Norman and Longobard culture. Near the Cathedral is the Church of the Annunziata, built in the XIII century and in gothic style. The ancient village, with its alleys, reproduces very suggestive atmospheres, especially in September when a lot of musical, theatrical and cultural events take place.
Not far from Caserta is the city of Capua, site of the most ancient Greek village in the region, very rich in archeological finds. The most important site of the city is the Roman Theatre, the original plant goes back to the II century B.C., while all other most significant monuments date from the late Roman period, as the Mitreo ( II-III century AD), the Thermae and the Anfiteatro (the largest after the Coliseum), completed in the II century, today it is only possible to visit the first of the four original levels and the undergrounds. Very interesting are also the Carceri Vecchie, the most ancient funeral building of Campania, Canocchia, a roman sepulchre of the II century and the Arch of Hadrian, an ancient gate of the city on the Via Appia; the gate is a triumphal arch originally with three arcades but only the southern one has stood up well over the centuries while the foundations remain for the others. Towards east, in the Patturelli property, was found a rural sanctuary dating back at least to the mid-fourth century B.C., together with hundred statues of Matres in tuff.
