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See Naples and Die! Caserta, Capua, and a few other lesser known sights

Caserta

Caserta is a small city a few miles north of Naples, just off the A1 autostrade to Rome. Construction of the royal palace (or Reggia) of Caserta was begun as a summer residence in 1752 by King Charles III of Naples, to the design of architect Luigi Vanvitelli, and was intended to rival Versailles. While it may fall slightly short of this mark, it is probably the most elaborate such palace in Italy. Under Ferdinand II in the mid-19th century when construction was completed, it was the favorite royal residence and hosted countless balls, receptions, hunting parties. The palace contains some 1200 rooms on five levels, four large courtyards, a theater, and extensive gardens.

The tour consists of rooms on the first floor comprising two sets of royal apartments. You enter via a grand staircase which leads to a grand octagonal vestibule. On one side is the Cappella Palatina, which unfortunately is often closed. Another door leads into the royal apartments. There are about 30 rooms on display, though a few may be closed at any given time, including the guard room, reception rooms, various bedrooms and dressing rooms, the throne room, and the royal library. The apartments are elaborately decorated with paintings, furniture, Murano glass chandeliers, and plenty of gold. Some rooms have ceilings painted with very nice grotesque designs while others contain a series of historical paintings of the region by Philip Hackert and portraits of various royals. The library contains some 10,000 volumes. One of the last rooms contains a huge presepe scene with over 1,200 figures, many in elaborate dress.

The gardens have seen better days, but are extensive and worth a visit. The highlight is a long series of cascades, pools, and fountains which stretch from the palace to the nearby mountains over a distance of over 1 1/2 miles! Some of the fountains are quite elaborate and the views from the palace to the end of the cascade and from the top looking back are impressive. For those who can't manage the long hike to the top, buses and horse-drawn carriages are available.

The palace is open daily from 8:30am to anywhere between 2:00pm and 6:00pm, depending on the time of year and admission is 6.00 Euro. There is a cafe and restaurant on site as well as a nice bookshop. An underground parking lot is located directly in front of the palace under another set of gardens which are currently under restoration.

Capua

Capua, a few miles north of Caserta, was another important Roman city (Casilinum) known for its defection to Hannibal in 216 BC in the 2nd Punic War and its subsequent recapture and harsh punishment by Rome in 211 BC. It was also the starting place of the revolt of the gladiators led by Spartacus in 73 BC.

The original site was evacuated due to invasion in the 2nd century AD and the modern city of Capua was established a few miles to the north. The original site later became the modern city of Santa Maria Capua Vetere.

In modern Capua, the primary sight of interest to visitors is the Museo Provinciale Campano (Via Roma, #68). Located in the Palazzo Antignano and an adjacent disused convent, the museum houses an excellent collection of ancient material and a small medieval collection. Among the highlights are an extensive collection of several dozen terra cotta deae matres (earth goddess) figures from the 6th to the 1st centuries BC, found on a nearby temple site. There are also extensive collections of terra cotta votive figures from the same period, a small but outstanding collection of Greek vases and plates, various bronze implements and ornaments, and a large collection of Roman funerary monuments. The medieval collection houses some interesting funeral slabs, sculpture from the 13th century Porta Roma, and a small Pinacoteca.

The museum is open daily except Monday from 9:00am to 1:30pm (1:00pm on Sunday) and costs 4.13 Euro (go figure!). The only downside is that you can only go through the museum with a guide, available only in Italian when we were there, so the visit was a bit rushed at times. In addition to the admission charge, a tip for the guide is rather obviously expected. No photography is allowed.

In Santa Maria Capua Vetere are the remains of the second largest Roman amphitheater in Italy, after the Colosseum, dating from the 1st century AD. The remains are in much poorer condition than the Colosseum or the amphitheater in Pozzuoli, though some conservation work seems to be underway. A few of the more than 80 arches surrounding the structure remain standing and you can get a look from above at the "playing field" and some of the underlying passages, though presently you cannot visit either. There's a small antiquarium on the grounds with displays on gladiators (many of the training schools for gladiators were in this region) and some stonework from the site. More decorative stonework can be seen in a small park on the south side of the site.

The site is open daily except Monday from 9:00am to dusk, and admission is 2.50 Euro. There's also a small Mithraeum nearby which can be visited by asking at the ticket window of the amphitheater.

Vesuvian Sites

There are several lesser known ancient sites in the area of Vesuvius which, like Pompeii and Herculaneum, were destroyed in the eruption of the volcano in 79 AD. Three of these sites are Stabiae, Oplontis, and Boscoreale. Unfortunately, these sites are difficult to visit without a car, but they are well worth a visit.

The three sites are open daily from 8:30am to 5:00pm (7:30pm from April to October) and are included on a combination ticket which costs 5.00 Euro. These sites are not heavily visited, so they usually offer a peaceful opportunity to explore and a pleasant contrast to the crowds at the better known sites.

Stabiae, overlooking the modern Castellemare di Stabia, was the site of several opulent villas in the 1st century. This is where Roman admiral and author Pliny the Elder died while trying to rescue survivors of the Vesuvius eruption. Currently two villa excavations can be visited, the Villa San Marco and Villa Arianne. Both have extensive remains including brilliant painted walls and the remains of some mosaic floors. Unfortunately, 18th century "archaeologists" who first rediscovered these sites were more interested in retrieving relics for their royal patrons than in scientific examination, so many wall paintings were chiseled from the walls to be taken to Naples (where some are displayed in the Museo Nazionale) and others were intentionally defaced to increase the value of the ones which were removed.

Oplontis, in the modern town of Torre Annunziata, was a suburb of ancient Pompeii and home to at least two splendid villas. One of these, the Villa Poppea (sometimes referred to as Villa A) can now be visited. This villa is much more extensive and better preserved than those at Stabiae, and is associated with Poppaea Sabina, 2nd wife of the Emperor Nero. The site includes magnificent wall paintings, frescoes, courtyards, and a large swimming pool. Excavation work is ongoing in the gardens. There is an excellent map and English-language pamphlet describing the various rooms and their decoration.

Boscoreale, just outside Pompeii, was the site of several villas destroyed by Vesuvius. Today the Boscoreale Antiquarium contains displays on the environment of the region in ancient times and man's relationship to it. There are two rooms in the museum; the first covers the natural history of the region with displays on flora and fauna, agriculture, hunting, and other uses of its natural resources in the Roman period. Exhibits include the plaster cast of a watchdog killed at Pompeii and a jar used for raising dormice, a Roman delicacy. The second room displays finds from several villas found in the area, including wall paintings, mosaics, and household objects. Outside the museum are the remains of a villa which is agricultural in focus and more modest in scale and decoration than those at Oplontis and Stabiae. The museum is contained within a fence and the gate may be closed even when the museum is open. If it's closed, press the button labeled "Museo" to be let into the site.

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See Naples and Die! Caserta, Capua, and a few other lesser known sights

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