Benevento in the Province of Benevento
The town of Benevento is situated in the inland of Campania, between the rivers Sabato and Calore. Its glorious past is witnessed by marvellous and impressive monuments: this town could be defined “an open air museum”.
Known as the town of the “witches”, also thanks to its famous liqueur, the history of this magic town can be summarized in three main periods: the Roman, Longobard and Pontifical ages. Each of the these three periods has left important historic-artistic traces.
The Trajan’s Arch, built between 114 and 117 a.C. in the Emperor Trajan’s honour, stands in the centre of the town, at the beginning of Via Traiana that shortens the way between Benevento and Brindisi; the Roman Theatre, commissioned by Caracalla, famous for its excellent acoustics; the Arch of Sacramento.
In the Longobard period, after the fall of the Kingdom of Pavia, it was elevated to a Principality by Arechi II who was a real art and culture-lover and realized several architectural works, including the Church of St. Sofia, with its beautiful cloister and the “Civitas Nova” with its boundary walls.
The end of the Longobard domination marks the passage of Benevento to the Pontifical rule: architectural traces of this period are the magnificent Rocca dei Rettori, Palace Paolo V, Basilica of St. Bartolomeo, Basilica of Madonna delle Grazie. With the unity of Italy, Benevento was freed from the Pontifical domination and by a drecree dated 25 October 1860 issued by Giorgio Pallavicini it was declared a province of Italy.
The Hortus Conclusus is also worth visiting, situated in the garden of the former monastery of St. Domenico, in piazza Guerrazzi, a complex of notable sculptural works by Domenico Paladino, representing a single, magnificient work.
NOT TO BE MISSED: Trajan’s Arch, Roman Theatre, Arch of Sacramento, Church of St. Ilario, Ponte Leproso (Roman bridge), Rocca dei Rettori, Church and Cloister of St. Sofia, Longobard Walls, Cathedral, Palace Paolo V, Basilica of St. Bartolomeo, Basilica of the Madonna delle Grazie, Hortus Conclusus.
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