Caserta

Caserta
—  Comune  —
Palace of Caserta
Caserta Location of Caserta in Italy
Coordinates: 41°04′N 14°20′E
Country	Italy
Region	Campania
Province	Caserta (CE)
Frazioni	Aldifreda, Briano, Casertavecchia, Casola, Casolla, Centurano, Ercole, Falciano, Garzano, Mezzano, Piedimonte di Casolla, Pozzovetere, Puccianiello, Sala di Caserta, San Benedetto, San Clemente, San Leucio, Santa Barbara, Staturano, Tredici, Tuoro, Vaccheria
Government
• Mayor	Pio del Gaudio (The People of Freedom PDL)
Area
• Total	53 km2 (20 sq mi)
Elevation	68 m (223 ft)
Population (December 31, 2004)
• Total	79,488
• Density	Bad rounding here1,500/km2 (Bad rounding here3,900/sq mi)
Demonym	Casertani
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	81020 (Caserta Vecchia, Casola di Caserta), 81100 (Caserta)
Dialing code	0823
Patron saint	St. Sebastian and St. Anne
Website	Official website

Caserta  listen  is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial and industrial comune and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Campanian Subapennine mountain range. The city is best known for the Palace of Caserta.

History

Modern Caserta was established around the defensive tower built in Lombard times by Pando, Prince of Capua. Pando destroyed the original city around 863. The tower is now part of the Palazzo della Prefettura which was once the seat of the counts of Caserta, as well as a Royal residence. The original population moved from Casertavecchia (former bishopric seat) to the current site in the 16th century.

The city and vicinity were the property of the Acquaviva family, who, being pressed by huge debts, sold all the land to the royal family. The royal family then selected Caserta for the construction of their new palace, which, being inland, was seen as more defensible than the previous palace fronting the Bay of Naples.

At the end of World War II, the royal palace served as the seat of the Supreme Allied Commander. The first Allied war trial took place here in 1945; German general Anton Dostler was sentenced to death and executed nearby, in Aversa.

Caserta is nowadays also well known for the strong influence of the Camorra, a Mafia-type organization, on the city's economic and social life.

Geography

Caserta is located 40 km (24.85 mi) in north of Naples. Its municipality borders with Capua, Casagiove, Casapulla, Castel Morrone, Curti, Limatola (BN), Maddaloni, Marcianise, Recale, San Felice a Cancello, San Marco Evangelista, San Nicola la Strada, San Prisco, Sant'Agata de' Goti (BN), Santa Maria Capua Vetere and Valle di Maddaloni.

Frazioni

• Casertavecchia is the ancient centre of the comune and former bishopric seat.
• San Leucio resort, seat of famous Royal silk workshops, also included in the World Heritage List.
• Vaccheria, which housed the stable of the Royal cattle.
• Falciano is a former bishop seat; it includes a 16th-century palace.
• Piedimonte di Casolla has an ancient Benedictine abbey, built over a Roman temple dedicated to Diana.
• Other "Frazioni": Aldifreda, Briano, Casola, Casolla, Centurano, Ercole, Garzano, Mezzano, Pozzovetere, Puccianiello, Sala di Caserta, San Benedetto, San Clemente, Santa Barbara, Staturano, Tredici, Tuoro.

Main sights

• Caserta's main attraction is its Royal Palace (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site). The palace was created in the 18th century by the Italian architect Luigi Vanvitelli as a Versailles-like residence ("Reggia") for the Bourbon kings of Naples and Sicily. It is one of the most visited monuments in the country. Inside are more than 1200 rooms, decorated in various styles. It has been the set for several famous movies such as Star Wars and Mission Impossible III. The park is 2 miles (3.2 km) long and contains many waterfalls, lakes and gardens, as well as a very famous English garden.
• Palazzo Vecchio ("Old Palace"), a construction of the 14th century renovated by Luigi Vanvitelli as provisional residence for the royal court.
• The Cathedral (18th century).
• The Aqueduct of Vanvitelli (18th century).

Squares

• Market Square: Matteotti Square is one of oldest squares of the city, it's called by Casertani "Piazza Mercato" (Market Square) because there is the daily market in a structure inaugurated in 2008
• Vanvitelli Square: it's the main square of the city, there's Palazzo Castropignano, seat of the municipality of Caserta, Palazzo Acquaviva, where there are offices of Questura and Prefettura of the Province of Caserta, banks, shops, hotels, bars. It's a big green square, at the center of it there's a statue of Luigi Vanvitelli, the architect who designed the Royal Palace of Caserta.

Gallery

• 

  The Cathedral of Casertavecchia.

• 

  Royal Palace: the gardens.

• 

  The Aqueduct of Vanvitelli

• 

  Statue of Luigi Vanvitelli

Transport

Caserta railway station is a hub for regional and national traffic, and represents an important interchange linking Rome and Naples to Bari. Nearest airport is Naples-Capodichino, located circa 30 km (18.64 mi) south.

Caserta is the starting point of the A30 motorway to Salerno and, on A1, is served by two exits: Caserta Nord (C. North, near Casagiove and Casapulla) and Caserta Sud (C. South, near Marcianise and San Marco Evangelista.

Famous people

See also: Category:People from Caserta

Caserta was the birthplace of the Italian writer Maria Valtorta, as well as the air power theorist Giulio Douhet. Fictional character Jennifer Melfi of The Sopranos said her family was from Caserta.

See also

• Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli
• US Casertana

External links

• Photographs of Casertavecchia
• Royal Palace of Caserta - Unofficial web-site
• (italian) Official Blog & Citizen Journalism of Province of Caserta
• See pictures from the Antonio Mucherino's web site