"At the court of the bourbon"

In the 18th century the area around the beautiful medieval village of “CASA IRTA” was chosen by the Bourbon for the building of their majestic Royal Palace of Caserta, whose huge gardens used to be linked to a secondary residence which was seat of a still-working silk factory named S. Leucio .

Casertavecchia

casertavecchiaCasertavecchia is an Italian medieval village that lies at the foot of the Tifatini Mountains located 10 km north-east of the City of Caserta at an altitude of approximately 401 meters. Its name translated from Italian means "Old Caserta."
The origins of Casertavecchia are uncertain, but according to the Benedictine monk, Erchempert, in Ystoriola Langobardorum Beneventi degentium, the village was founded in 861 AD. The previous Roman town was called "Casam Irtam" (from the Latin meaning "home village located above").
The village was initially conquered and ruled by the Lombards. Subsequent Saracen depredations led to the fortified mountain village becoming the Bishopric for the province.
Under Norman domination, the village began the construction of its cathedral, dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel. During this period it was controlled by the Swabian, Riccardo di Lauro (1232-1266), who increased the political power of the town.
The Aragons conquered the village in 1442 which began its long and gradual decline in importance. Eventually, Casertavecchia would host only the local seminary and the Bishop's seat. Under the rule of the Bourbons, major construction began taking place in the city of Caserta. By 1842 political rule had entirely moved to the great palace in the larger city, with the Casertan diocese finally relocating from Casertavecchia to Caserta.
In 1960, Casertavecchia was designated an Italian National Monument.
Today, the village is primarily a tourist destination. Sites worth visiting consist of the Cathedral of S.Michele, a magnificent example of arab-norman architecture with a polychromatic lantern and belltower, the remains of the original castle and the Mullioned House, an example of a 15th century aristocratic home.. Visitors can dine in local pizzerias with panoramic views of the surrounding country.

Capua (Santa Maria Capua Vetere)

Cicero called ancient Capua Altera Roma, and now it corresponds to the modern town of S.Maria Capua Vetere. Its monuments remind us the splendour of the Roman time: The Mitreo and the Amphiteatre.
A Mithraeum is a place of worship for the followers of the mystery religion of Mithraism.
The Mithraeum was either an adapted natural cave or cavern or an artificial building imitating a cavern. Mithraea were dark and windowless, even if they were not actually in a subterranean space or in a natural cave. When possible, the mithraeum was constructed within or below an existing building. The site of a mithraeum may also be identified by its separate entrance or vestibule, its "cave", called the spelaeum or spelunca, with raised benches along the side walls for the ritual meal, and its sanctuary at the far end, often in a recess, before which the pedestal-like altar stood.
The one of S.Maria Capua Vetere dates back to the 2nd-3rd centuries AD. On the far wall a fresco of the god killing a bull can still be seen (2nd century AD).
 

Amphitheatre

It was built in the time of Augustus, restored by Hadrian and dedicated by Antoninus Pius, as the inscription over the main entrance recorded. The exterior was formed by 80 Doric arcades of four stories each, but only two arches now remain. The keystones were adorned with heads of divinities.
Inside the amphitheater.
The interior is better preserved; beneath the arena are subterranean passages like those in the amphitheatre at Puteoli. It is one of the largest in existence; the longer diameter is 170 m (185 yd), the shorter 140 m (152 yd), and the arena measures 75 by 45 m (83 by 49 yd), the corresponding dimensions in the Colosseum at Rome being 188, 155, 85, 53 m (205, 170, 93 and 58 yd).
Close to the Amphiteatre you can find the Gladiator Museum, full of original armour; it will be particularly appreciated by children.

San Leucio

San Leucio is a small village in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania in southern Italy. It is most notable for a resort developed around an old silk factory, included in the UNESCO World Heritage sites list in 1997.
In 1750 Charles VII of Naples, advised by minister Bernardo Tanucci, selected this place, originally the site of a royal hunting lodge for the Acquaviva family (now restored, and known as Palazzo del Belvedere), for an unusual social and tecnological experiment, a different model of production based on technical innovation and alert to the needs of workers. In its early days, San Leucio resort was a place for pleasure and a royal hunting preserve, built on the ruins of Saint Leucio church, where an aqueduct carried water to the waterfalls of the Royal Caserta Palace, designed by Vanvitelli. The son of Charles, Ferdinand I, had a hunting lodge built for himself on this site. He was a very skillful hunter who disliked the pleasures and luxury of court life. It was here that Charles and the young king Ferdinand built a silk factory. The complex was transformed into a silk production site and industrial buildings were added, which was quite unique in late 18th-century Europe. Architect Francesco Collecini designed these industrial buildings, where noisy looms were installed next to royal apartments and a sitting room became a chapel for the workers.
A new village was built for workers' residences, and a large community of silk weavers grew into this industrial town, which in 1789 was deemed the "Real Colonia dei Setaioli" (the Silk Weavers Royal Colony). The king had planned to expand it into a true new city, called Ferdinandopoli, but the project was halted by the French invasion.
In San Leucio the most advanced technologies known in Europe at the time were used throughout the process to obtain the finished products. The members of the colony had a privileged status with a modern social security system. The revolution of 1799 stopped the complete realization of the Ferdinandopoli, but San Leucio resort had further growth during the French rule from 1806 to 1815.
The heritage of King Ferdinand still survives today in the local silk and textile firms, which work on an international scale to elite foreign clients as the Buckingham Palace, the White House, the Quirinale Palace, the Palazzo Chigi.
San Leucio resort is home to a Living Silk Museum with some original old looms and machinery restored and displayed inside the Belvedere courtyard, showing all the phases of silk productions, from the old looms and machinery to finished products.
From 1997 San Leucio resort is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in Europe as part of the site 18th Century Royal Palace at Caserta with the Park, the Aqueduct of Vanvitelli and the San Leucio Complex.



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