Aversa is a town in the
CampaniaCampania is a region of southern Italy in Europe. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,595 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
region of southern
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, about 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of
NaplesNaples in Italy, is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old...
. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the
agro aversano, producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical buffalo
mozzarellaMozzarella is a generic term for several kinds of originally Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting :...
). Aversa is also the main seat of the
facultiesA faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...
of
ArchitectureFor a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use....
and
EngineeringEngineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
of the
Seconda università degli studi di Napoli (Second University of Naples).
- See also List of Counts of Aversa.
Aversa, which replaced the nearby city of
AtellaAtella was an ancient city of Campania, halfway between Naples and Capua; its ruins lie between the towns of Orta di Atella and Sant'Arpino. Atella is not mentioned until the Second Punic War, when, although an independent city striking its own coinage, it was allied with Capua and the other...
that had been laid waste during the Gothic Wars, was the first of the
NormanThe Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
territories in the Mediterranean.
Aversa is a town in the
CampaniaCampania is a region of southern Italy in Europe. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,595 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
region of southern
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
, about 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of
NaplesNaples in Italy, is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture, architecture, music and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old...
. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the
agro aversano, producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical buffalo
mozzarellaMozzarella is a generic term for several kinds of originally Italian cheeses that are made using spinning and then cutting :...
). Aversa is also the main seat of the
facultiesA faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...
of
ArchitectureFor a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use....
and
EngineeringEngineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
of the
Seconda università degli studi di Napoli (Second University of Naples).
History
- See also List of Counts of Aversa.
Aversa, which replaced the nearby city of
AtellaAtella was an ancient city of Campania, halfway between Naples and Capua; its ruins lie between the towns of Orta di Atella and Sant'Arpino. Atella is not mentioned until the Second Punic War, when, although an independent city striking its own coinage, it was allied with Capua and the other...
that had been laid waste during the Gothic Wars, was the first of the
NormanThe Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France. They descended from Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of mostly Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
territories in the Mediterranean. In 1030, the site was ceded to
Rainulf DrengotRainulf Drengot was a Norman adventurer and the first count of Aversa .When one of Rainulf's numerous brothers, Osmond, was exiled by Richard I of Normandy for the murder of one of his kin, Rainulf, Osmond, and their brothers Gilbert Buatère, Asclettin , and Raulf went on a pilgrimage to the...
, a cadet of the lords of Quarrel near
AlençonAlençon is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon .-History:...
in
NormandyNormandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is situated along the English Channel coast of Northern France between Brittany and Picardy and comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands.Normandy is divided between French and British...
; he was invested as count by Duke
Sergius IV of NaplesSergius IV was Duke of Naples from 1002 to 1036. He was one of the prime catalysts in the growth of Norman power in the Mezzogiorno in the first half of the eleventh century...
and confirmed by
Emperor Conrad IIConrad II was the son of a mid-level nobleman in Franconia, Count Henry of Speyer and Adelaide of Alsace, who inherited the titles of count of Speyer and of Worms as an infant when Henry died at age twenty...
. 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 GuiscardRobert Guiscard, from Latin Viscardus and Old French Viscart, often rendered the Resourceful, the Cunning, the Wily, or the Fox, was a Norman adventurer conspicuous in the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily...
, 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
GuitmundThe Norman Guitmund , bishop of Aversa, was a Benedictine monk who was an adversary of Berengar of Tours.In his youth he entered the Benedictine monastery of La-Croix-Saint-Leufroy in the diocese of Évreux, and about 1060 he was studying theology at the abbey of Bec, where he had Lanfranc as...
(died c. 1090-95), a Benedictine monk, theologian, and opponent of
Berengar of ToursBerengar of Tours was a French 11th century Christian theologian and Archdeacon of Angiers, a scholar whose leadership of the cathedral school at Chartres set an example of intellectual inquiry through the revived tools of dialectic that was soon followed at cathedral schools of Laon and Paris, ...
.
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 FortoreThe Battle of Civitate was fought on 18 June 1053 in Southern Italy, between the Normans, led by the Count of Apulia Humphrey of Hauteville, and a Swabian-Italian-Lombard army, organised by Pope Leo IX and led on the battlefield by Gerard, Duke of Lorraine, and Rudolf, Prince of Benevento...
(1053) in
Beneventan territoryBenevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato. It is also the seat of a Catholic archbishop.Benevento occupies the site of...
; even
Pope Leo IXPope Saint Leo IX , born Bruno of Eguisheim-Dagsburg , was Pope from February 12, 1049 to his death. He is regarded as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, with the feast day of April 19...
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.
After the Norman dynasty Aversa declined in importance: the Angevin kings of Naples came to Aversa mostly to hunt and hold court in the citadel, of which a few traces remain in via Roma in Aversa's historic centre. In particular Queen
Joanna IJoan I , born Joanna of Anjou, was Queen of Naples from 1343 until her death. She was also Countess of Provence and Forcalquier, Queen consort of Majorca and titular Queen of Jerusalem and Sicily 1343–82, and Princess of Achaea 1373/5–81....
chose Aversa for her preferred seat. There a group of nobles led by the pretender to the throne of Naples Charles of Durazzo. threw the prince consort Andrea I of Hungary from a window with a rope around his neck. His brother, king
Louis I of HungaryLouis the Great Louis the Great Louis the Great was Apostolic King of Hungary from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370 until his death. (See Titles section)...
, head of the
house of AnjouAngevin is the name applied to the residents of Anjou, a former province of the Kingdom of France, as well as to the residents of Angers....
, descended into Italy and at Aversa took his vengeance at a banquet of reconciliation, as Joanna escaped to Avignon.
The presence of the court also benefitted Aversa by the institution of the Real Casa dell'Annunziata (ca 1315) an orphanage and hospice that occupied a central place in Aversan public life.
Main sights
Aversa, the second in historic importance of the dioceses of Campania. is the "city of a hundred churches" in its extensive historic center. Amnong its monuments:
- The Romanesque Duomo
Aversa Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Aversa in the province of Caserta, Campania, Italy.It has been the seat of the Bishop of Aversa from the bishopric's foundation in 1053....
, dedicated to Saint PaulPaul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, Paul of Tarsus, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul, or Saint Paul, ...
, has a spectacular ambulatoryThe ambulatory is the covered passage around a cloister. The term is sometimes applied to the procession way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar.-Architectural context:Aisles that line the nave extend through the transept and continue in a half-circle that...
and a majestic octagonal domeA dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
. Francesco SolimenaFrancesco Solimena was a prolific Italian painter of the Baroque era, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen.-Biography:Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino, near Avellino....
's Madonna of the Gonfaloneand the Quattrocento painter Angiolillo Arcuccio's 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.
- The Baroque Church of San Francesco delle Monache.
- The Ospedale Psichiatrico Santa Maria Maddalena founded by Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , 1st Prince Murat, Grand Duke of Berg and Cleves, Marshal of France and Admiral of France, was King of Naples from 1808 to 1815. He received his titles in part by being the brother-in-law of Napoleon Bonaparte, through marriage to Napoleon's youngest sister, Caroline...
in 1813 which was the oldest Judicial Psychiatric Hospital in Italy and the center of many accusations of abuse.
- The Real Casa dell'Annunziata.
- The Benedictine Abbey of San Lorenzo, founded in the 10th century, with a fine Renaissance cloister.
- The Church of Santa Maria a Piazza, founded in the 10th century, has frescoes of the school of Giotto
Giotto may refer to:* Giotto di Bondone an Italian painter* Giotto mission, an European Space Agency space mission for the observation of Halley's comet* The Giotto programming language for real-time embedded systems...
.
- Other churches in the city conserve paintings by Guido da Siena, Polidoro da Caravaggio, Marco Pino da Siena, Pietro da Cortona
Pietro da Cortona, byname of Pietro Berrettini, born Pietro Berrettini da Cortona, was an Italian artist and architect of High Baroque. He is best known for painting fresco ceilings, a pursuit in which he had ample competition in the Rome of his day, but he was equally adept and masterful with...
, Pietro Negroni "il Giovane Zingaro", Giuseppe Ribera, Cornelius Smeet, Abram Vink, Teodoro d'Errico, Francesco de MuraFrancesco de Mura was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period, active mainly in Naples and Turin. His late work reflects the style of neoclassicism....
, Massimo StanzioneMassimo Stanzione was an Italian Baroque painter, mainly active in Naples.Stanzione was born in Orta di Atella, in the modern province of Caserta...
, and Paolo de Majo.
- The Historic Former Railway station (Stazione Ferrovia Napoli Piedimonte D'Alife)of a long closed 1913 railway
- The Historic Aragonese Castle which now houses the Italian Penitentiary Police (Italys Correction Officers) training facility
Transportation
Aversa has a major station on the
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
-Naples line which runns through
FormiaFormia is a city in the province of Latina, on the Mediterranean coast of Lazio . It is located halfway between Rome and Naples, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way.-History:...
. Most of the traffic is held by
TrenitaliaTrenitalia is the primary operator of trains within Italy. Trenitalia is owned by Ferrovie dello Stato, itself owned by the Italian Government. It was created in 2000 following the EU directive on the deregulation of rail transport...
, although some trains run under the aegis of MetroCampania NordEst (former
Ferrovia AlifanaThe Ferrovia Alifana is a former railroad company of southern Italy. It held public passenger service on the rail line connection Naples to Piedimonte d'Alife...
).
The nearest airport is that of Napoli-Capodichino, 10 km (6 mi) afar.
Aversa is connected to the
A1 MotorwayThe Autostrada A1, or Autostrada del Sole , is an Italian motorway which connects Milan with Naples via Bologna, Florence and Rome. At 754 km, it is the longest Italian autostrada and is considered the “spinal cord” of the country’s road network...
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).
Famous people
- Vincenzo Caianiello
Vincenzo Caianiello was an Italian jurist, member of the Constitutional Court of Italy from October 23, 1986 to October 23, 1995....
, jurist
- Domenico Cimarosa
Domenico Cimarosa was an Italian opera composer of the Neapolitan school. He wrote more than eighty operas during his lifetime, including his masterpiece, Il matrimonio segreto .-Early life and education:...
, opera composer
- Carmelina Fedele
Carmelina Fedele is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as having given birth to the largest baby by a healthy mother. Her son, born in Aversa, Italy in September 1955 weighed 10.2 kg ....
, record holder for largest baby born by a healthy mother
- Niccolò Jommelli
Niccolò Jommelli was an Italian composer. He was born in Aversa and died in Naples. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he made important changes to opera and reduced the importance of star singers.-Early life:Jommelli was born to Francesco Antonio Jommelli and...
, classical composer
- Antonio Ruberti
Antonio Ruberti was an Italian politician and engineer. He was a member of the Italian Government and a European Commissioner as well as a Professor of engineering at La Sapienza University.-Biography:...
, politician and engineer
- Lennie Tristano
Leonard Joseph Tristano was a jazz pianist and composer. He performed in the cool jazz, bebop, post bop and avant-garde jazz genres...
, jazz pianist and composer
- Alessandro Verde
Alessandro Verde was an Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal and former Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore....
, Roman Catholic cardinal
External links