Happy TravellerWelcome to Aversa, a charming city located in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy. With its rich history, delicious cuisine, and stunning landscapes, Aversa is a hidden gem that should not be missed. Let’s explore what this beautiful city has to offer.
Aversa is the centre of an agricultural district, the Agro Aversano, producing wine and cheese, including the famous buffalo mozzarella. The city is also home to the faculties of Architecture and Engineering of the Università degli studi della Campania L. Vanvitelli, making it a hub of education and innovation.
Geographically, Aversa is located just 24 km north of Naples and 26 km from Caserta, the administrative centre of the province of the same name. The municipality borders several other towns and cities, including Carinaro, Casaluce, Cesa, Frignano, Giugliano in Campania, Gricignano di Aversa, Lusciano, San Marcellino, SantAntimo, Teverola, and Trentola Ducenta. The city sits in a fertile coastal plain north of Naples, serving as a market for agricultural products to the city. The plain on which it sits was known in ancient Roman times as the Campania Felix.
Archaeological sites excavated near Aversa have revealed human presence in the area since the Neolithic period. Some say that the founding of the ancient city took place with the Etruscans. In any case, because of endemic malaria that ravaged the region, the primitive city was abandoned. Only a small military fortification, a castellum, still stands in the area, which is linked to a chapel in memory of the current alleged passage through Aversa by the Apostle Paul in the year 61. A.D., via the Roman road that ran towards Rome.
The present-day Aversa, which replaced the nearby city of Atella that had been laid waste during the Gothic Wars, was the first of the Norman territories in the Mediterranean. In 1030, the site was ceded to Rainulf Drengot, a cadet of the lords of Quarrel near Alençon in Normandy; he was invested as count by Duke Sergius IV of Naples and confirmed by Emperor Conrad II. By offering a generous principle of asylum for the persecuted, Rainulf enlarged the power and importance of his little borgo, which became the base from which the Normans forged a state in Sicily and Italy. The diplomacy of Robert Guiscard, who built the fortifications, led to the investiture of a bishop responsible to the Pope at Aversa, which was nominally territory of the Eastern Emperor. One of the first bishops was the Norman Guitmund (died c. 1090–95), a Benedictine monk, theologian, and opponent of Berengar of Tours. The count of Aversa, Richard I, was one of the chief leaders in the struggle against the Papal forces which culminated in the Battle of Civitella del Fortore (1053) in Beneventan territory; even Pope Leo IX himself was captured at what turned into a rout in favour of the Normans. The astute Richard did not treat the pope as a prisoner, however, but escorted him back to Rome with full honours, a gesture that led to the conciliation of the Normans with the Church, the lifting of the ban of excommunication that had been laid upon Aversa.
Aversa is home to many beautiful churches and monuments, including the Romanesque Duomo, dedicated to Saint Paul, which has a spectacular ambulatory and a majestic octagonal dome. Francesco Solimenas Madonna of the Gonfalone and the Quattrocento painter Angiolillo Arcuccios Martyrdom of St Sebastian are in the Duomo. The pre-Romanesque sculpture of St George and the Dragon is one of the few surviving free-standing sculptures of its date. An outstanding collection of Baroque liturgical silver is kept in the Treasury. Other churches in the city conserve paintings by Guido da Siena, Polidoro da Caravaggio, Marco Pino da Siena, Pietro da Cortona, Pietro Negroni il Giovane Zingaro, Giuseppe Ribera, Cornelius Smeet, Abram Vink, Teodoro dErrico, Francesco de Mura, Massimo Stanzione, and Paolo de Maio. The city is also home to the Benedictine Abbey of San Lorenzo, founded in the 10th century, with a fine Renaissance cloister, and the Church of Santa Maria a Piazza, founded in the 10th century, which has frescoes of the school of Giotto. The Historic Aragonese Castle, which now houses the Italian Penitentiary Police (Italys Correction Officers) training facility, is also a must-see.
Aversa is also known for its delicious cuisine, including the Aversa DOC Italian wine, both white and sparkling, which comes from this area. Grapes destined for DOC product must be harvested to a maximum yield of 14 tonnes/hectare with the finished wines fermented to a minimum alcohol level of 10.5% for still and 11% for the spumante style. The primary grape variety of the region is the Asprinio, which must constitute at least 85% of the wines, with other local white grape varieties, such as Fiano, Trebbiano, and Greco, permitted to fill in the remainder. Viticulture in Aversa is unique for its use of growing the grapevines with poplar trees acting as trellises. This traditional method of trellising means that almost all harvesting is done by hand.
Transportation in Aversa is easy, with the Aversa railway station being a major station on the Rome–Formia–Naples railway. Most of the traffic is operated by Trenitalia, although some trains run under the aegis of MetroCampania NordEst (successor to the former Ferrovia Alifana). Aversa is served by a suburban train, on the Naples–Aversa railway, that connects its stations (Aversa Centro and Aversa Ippodromo) with Piscinola, northern Naples, on the Line 1 of Naples Metro. The nearest airport is that of Napoli-Capodichino, 10 kilometres (6 miles) away. Aversa is connected to the A1 Motorway by the SP 335-VI Provincial Road (former SS 265 State Road) and the SS 7 bis. Public bus transport is responsibility of the CTP (Compagnia Trasporti Pubblici Napoli), which serves Aversa with several motorbus routes and one trolleybus route.
In conclusion, Aversa is a beautiful city with a rich history, delicious cuisine, and stunning landscapes. Whether you’re interested in exploring the city’s many churches and monuments, sampling its delicious wine and cheese, or simply taking in the beautiful scenery, Aversa has something for everyone. So why not plan your next vacation to this hidden gem and discover all that Aversa has to offer?
