| Benevento Benevento | ||
 | ||
Flag  | ||
| State | Italy | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Campania | |
| Altitude | 135 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 130.84 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 59.028 (2019) | |
| Name inhabitants | Benevento | |
| Prefix tel | 39 0824 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 82100 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
| Patron | San Bartolomeo | |
Position
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| Institutional website | ||
Benevento is a city of Campania.
To know
The city is located in the Apennine hinterland of Campania, in the southern part of the historical region of Sannio at the border withIrpinia, in a position almost equidistant from the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas.
It is located in a basin surrounded by hills; to the west in particular, beyond the Vitulanese Valley, is the Taburno Camposauro massif: its peaks, seen from the city, draw the silhouette of a lying woman, the Dormiente del Sannio. From the highest part of the city you can also see the peaks of Mount Mutria del Matese to the north-west, the high curtain of Partenio with Mount Avella to the south, the appendages of the Dauni mountains to the east.
The city is crossed by two rivers: the Calore, a tributary of the Volturno, and the Sabato, which flows into the Calore in the Pantano district, just west of the city center.
The territory on which the city extends is rather undulating. Its center in fact rises on a hill in the middle of the valley, and some districts rise on other surrounding hills. The average height above sea level is 135 m, with a minimum of 80 m and a maximum of 495 m, equal to an excursion of 415 m.
The climate of Benevento has considerably more continental features than the maritime one of the Neapolitan coast, with an average annual temperature of 15.8 ° C. The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is 7.1 ° C, that of the hottest month (August) is 24.7 ° C.
In the winter semester the temperature is generally quite low; the rains are relatively frequent, as are fog and frost, while snow is scarce. On the other hand, summer is very hot and sultry during the day, but rather mild at night. The highest temperature recorded in the city was 42 ° C on July 18, 1884. The humidity in winter is on average 72% and in summer 57%.
Background
- Foundation
The foundation of Benevento dates back to ancient times. A legend tells that Benevento owes its origins to the Greek hero Diomede, who landed in Italy after the destruction and fire of Troy, and who would have reserved for the city a tusk of the mythical Calydonian boar (symbol of Benevento) killed by his uncle. Meleager; according to Procopius of Caesarea it would also have hosted the meeting between Diomedes and Aeneas. A 4th century BC coin, attributed to the city and bearing the emblem of the horse and the inscription Malies, would support the thesis of Greek origin, as the horse was the particular symbol of Diomedes. In reality, the foundation is supposed to belong to the Osci, passing later to the Samnites. Furthermore, the word Malies (or Malocis), probably Oscan or Samnite name, would be at the origin of the first name of the city which was Maloenton, hence the Latin one of Maleventum or Maluentum. From the pre-Roman period the city offers ceramics and bronzes from the eighth and seventh centuries.
In this regard, it is interesting to underline that according to the linguistic study of toponyms, the root * Mal- (with possible meaning of "stone") would not be attributable to an Indo-European root, for this reason it is believed that this toponym (recurrent in many places in Europe and in particular in Italy), and a legacy in the Indo-European languages (to which Osco and Latin belong), of the language spoken before the arrival of these peoples in the Neolithic age. In recent years, some scholars have been hypothesizing a different origin of the city, which would have taken the name of Civitate Beneventana, as an area of the current city territory was called during the Middle Ages.
- Romans
For the first time in Roman history, in 314 BC. Maleventum appears, defined in connection with the First Samnite War as a flourishing center of the Southern Sannio, one of the main ones of the Irpini tribe. In its vicinity, the legions of Papirio Cursore and Bibulco defeated the Samnite troops during the Second Samnite War. In the vicinity of the city, in 297 BC, the Roman consul Publio Decio Mure, would have defeated the Apuli during the third Samnite war, thus preventing reunification with the Samnites.
In 275 BC, the Romans defeated Pyrrhus, who came to Italy with his elephants: this fact proved to be fundamental for the development of the city. To ensure possession of Benevento, they were deduced in 268 BC. the first settlement of Roman colonists with Latin law. The name of Beneventum dates back to this period, changed from Maleventum, considered a bad omen.
During the Second Punic War, two decisive battles were fought: in 214 BC. the Carthaginian general Annone was defeated by T. Gracco; in 210 BC, the field of Annone was attacked and taken by the consul Q. Fulvio. In 209 BC it was one of the eighteen Latin colonies that administered contingents of men and money to continue the war.
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The importance of the city grew with the construction of the Via Traiana, the new route of the Via Appia. In 86 BC, the Romans elevated it to the rank of municipium. Towards the end of the Republic, Benevento is described as one of the most prosperous cities in the South. Augustus, in 42 BC, deduces a new colony, while a third colony is deduced from Nero, which takes the name of Concordia, as is also documented in the inscriptions of the reign of Septimius Severus: Colonia Julia Augusta Concordia Felix. Adriano then united it with Campania.
Benevento drew particular benefits from being located on an important communication artery which was the Appian Way at the time. Trajan chose it as the starting point for the road that took his name. Thus it was that throughout the third and fourth centuries AD. the city prospered in a particular way, enriching itself with numerous and splendid monuments. At that time it was the most populous city in the South after Capua.
Episcopal seat starting from the 4th-5th century, it was almost entirely destroyed by a terrible earthquake in 369 AD, marking its slow and inexorable decline, also favored by the crisis of the Western Roman Empire.
- The Duchy in the 6th century
In 410 AD, it suffered the invasion of the Visigoths and in 455 that of the Vandals. Shortly thereafter, the fall of the Western Roman Empire occurred. In 490 A.D. it was taken by the Goths, in 536 or 537 freed by Belisario and in 545 conquered and sacked by Totila.
In 571 the Lombards founded the duchy of which Zottone was the first duke until 591. The last was Arechi II, son-in-law of King Desiderio, from 778 to 787. Protected by his greatness, by the secluded situation and by the difficulties of carrying to support war, the duchy remains unharmed in the face of the threat of the Franks and Charlemagne himself is forced to stop at its borders. In 840, after Sicardo's violent death, the domain was divided into the two principalities of Benevento and Salerno and the county of Capua. There followed the series of independent princes of Benevento from Radalgisio to Landolfo VI. In 969, Pope John XIII raised Benevento to a metropolitan church. The principality ended in 1053 with the battle of Civitate and the capture of Benevento by Richard I of Aversa and Roberto il Guiscardo. In 1077, Henry III ceded it to the Church.
- Pontifical Benevento
It was for a few years in the hands of the Normans (1078 - 1081), then remained for centuries a papal enclave in the Kingdom of Naples, governed by papal rectors, despite alternating events: there were in fact attempts to conquer it by Frederick II and Manfredi of Swabia, who was killed here in a battle against Charles I of Anjou. It was taken from the Church during the struggles between the Angevins and the Aragonese.
In 1458, Pope Callixtus III, on the eve of his death, created his nephew Pedro Luís, Duke of Benevento, an illusory fief, as the city was firmly held by King Ferrante.
Alessandro VI, not to be outdone, confirming the investiture of the kingdom of Naples to Frederick of Aragon, in 1497 obtained it for his son Giovanni, formerly Duke of Gandia, Prince of Tricarico, Count of Garinola and Claromonte, as well as Gonfaloniere of the Church. Benevento was then troubled by the infighting that arose between the factions of Castello and that of the Fragola (Fravola), which ended with the peace of 1530.
In the seventeenth century, however, plagues, famines and earthquakes annihilated the efforts made and increasingly impoverished the city. Benevento finds serenity under the pope, except for a brief siege by the Spaniards from 4 September to 28 September 1633, writes the historian Gregorovius: "The city considered itself as a republic under the high patronage of the Popes, and it endured this form of supremacy papal, because there she found a way to use greater freedom than another regiment would have allowed her ". [6]
In 1688 it was destroyed by an earthquake. Cardinal Archbishop Orsini, the future Benedict XIII, saved himself from the ruins of his palace and not only rebuilt the city, but increased all its activities. In 1702, however, Benevento was shaken by a new cataclysm and the Shepherd did not desist from his work, so much so that he was celebrated as Alter Conditor Urbis ("new founder of the city").
With the arrival in Italy of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798, Benevento was first occupied by Ferdinand IV of Bourbon. Later, Napoleon made it the seat of a new principality, ruled by Talleyrand (1806). Returning to the Church with the Restoration, in 1860 the Garibaldians of Salvatore Rampone took it away from the papal dominion, and it was thus annexed to the nascent Kingdom of Italy.
- After the unification of Italy
Thus began a new life for the ancient city, which resumed its function in Southern Italy, developing considerably in its urban complex and embellishing itself with interesting buildings and beautiful monuments, progressing in agriculture, especially in the cultivation of tobacco and cereals. , in the famous confectionery, mechanical, liquor, wood, brick industries, in its thriving businesses, in welfare and cultural institutions.
Nor could this fervor be extinguished by the immense destruction of the Second World War, when the citizens gave such proof of courage and self-denial that they deserved the Gold Medal for Civil Valor (June 15, 1967). The city was bombed by the Allies in 1943: two thousand inhabitants died and over half of the city was destroyed. Only on 2 October 1943 did the Americans enter the city.
Substantial damage was then caused by a flood in 1949. Since then Benevento has expanded considerably, and is still the subject of major redevelopment interventions.
How to orient yourself
Benevento: full screen map.Bridges
For orientation, the 2 bridges on the 2 rivers that cross the city are of interest. The bridge over the Calore allows you to reach the city center from the railway district where the central station is located. The bridge of Santa Maria degli Angeli connects the central area of the city with the district called Rione Libertà from which you can proceed towards Naples and Caserta.
- 1 Vanvitelli Bridge (Ponte Calore). Bridge over the river Calore built in 1960 in place of the previous bridge designed by Luigi Vanvitelli. The foundations of the pylons of the old bridge are still visible.
- 2 Bridge of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Bridge of Santa Maria della Libera). Bridge over the river Sabato which connects the historic center of the city with the Libertà district.
How to get
On the train
3 Benevento station, Piazza Vittoria Colonna (directions Naples - Benevento, Rome Termini - Benevento.). Direct trains several times a day from Naples Central. From Rome on the Rome line - Lecce. 
How to get around
By car
Parking lots
- For a fee
4 Long heat, Street Martyrs of Nassyrya. Parking on several floors
What see
- 1 Duomo (Sancta Maria de Episcopio), Corso Garibaldi. Main church of the city. Initially created in the seventh century it was almost totally destroyed in the bombings of the Second World War. The original 13th century Romanesque façade and bell tower and the crypt remain. Of particular interest is the bronze door of the “Janua Maior” cathedral.
- 2 Arch of the Sacrament, Via Carlo Torre. Arch built between the end of the first century and the beginning of the second century AD. originally entered the area of the forum. There is an adjacent small interesting archaeological area.
- 3 Egyptian obelisk, Piazza Paolo Emilio Papiniano. Egyptian obelisk from 88 AD dedicated to Isis.
- 4 Trajan's Arch (Golden Gate), Via Traiano.
Free admission. Arco Traiano built in honor of the Roman emperor Trajan in 114 AD. It indicates the beginning of the Via Traiana which reached as far as Brindisi. 
5 Church of Santa Sofia, Piazza Santa Sofia. Church of Santa Sofia, Lombard church consecrated in 774 AD. today recognized as part of the heritage of humanity byUNESCO (Lombard sites). - 6 Hortus Conclusus. Garden with modern art installations.
- 7 Fortress of the Rectors, Piazza IV Novembre. Rocca dei Rettore Pontifici fortified building from the 15th century. Currently seat of the provincial administration of Benevento.
- 8 Roman theatre, Via Teatro Romano. Roman Theater inaugurated between 125 AD and 128 A.D. under the emperor Hadrian. Today the theater is used for theatrical and musical performances.
- 9 Cemetery of S. Clementina, Ponte Leproso, district of S. Clementina.
- 10 Port'Arsa, Via Torre della Catena. Free admission. Door in the Lombard walls of the city, 10th century AD.
- 11 Leproso Bridge, Leproso Bridge. Roman bridge of the third century BC
Free admission. Arco Traiano built in honor of the Roman emperor Trajan in 114 AD. It indicates the beginning of the Via Traiana which reached as far as Brindisi.
Museums
- 12 Sannio Museum, Piazza Santa Sofia, ☎ 39 0824 774763. Sannio Museum and Santa Sofia cloister.
- 13 Arcos Museum - Contemporary Art, Corso Garibaldi, ☎ 39 0824 312465. Small museum with pieces of both ancient and modern art, as there is a permanent exhibition of Egyptian art. The museum is located inside the palace of the prefecture of Benevento.
Parks and gardens
- 14 Municipal villa, Viale Degli Atlantiques (From Piazza Castello or from the Viale degli Atlantiques). Free admission. Municipal Villa of Benevento inside there is a pond with swans and is an excellent place for cool refreshment in summer. There is also a sound box where concerts are performed.
- 15 "Francesco Pepicelli" Gardens, Avenue of the Atlanteans. Small gardens located in the upper part of the avenue of the Atlanteans. Nice view of the liberty district.
Events and parties
What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Where to eat
Moderate prices
- 1 Mc Donald's, Via Pietro Nenni 2. Restaurant of the well-known fast food chain.
- 2 Traiano Pizzeria Restaurant (Muscovius), Via Giuseppe Manciotti, 48, ☎ 39 0824 277669. Simple and typical dishes of Benevento and pizzeria. Simple environment, in summer it is possible to eat at outdoor tables overlooking the Trajan arch. One of the best known and most characteristic places in Benevento.
Average prices
- 3 Gino and Pina, Viale dell 'Università, 23, ☎ 39 0824 24947, @[email protected]. Restaurant where you can taste typical Benevento dishes and pizzas and drink good wine.
- 4 Liffey Irish Pub, Via Sant 'Agostino 3, ☎ 39 3403487291. Small Irish style pub. excellent location: a stone's throw from the Arco Traiano. Great beer, especially Guinness.
High prices
- 5 Black pepper, Viale degli Atlantiques 63, ☎ 39 0824 51030. Restaurant Pizzeria. Equipped with 2 rooms, in summer it is possible to eat seated at the outdoor tables. The dishes are good.
Where stay
Average prices
- 1 Italian hotel, Viale Principe di Napoli, 137 (About 15 minutes from the historic center.), ☎ 39 0824 2411, fax: 39 0824 21758, @[email protected].
- 2 Hotel President, Via Giovan Battista Perasso, 1 (very close to the city center), ☎ 39 0824 316716, fax: 39 0824 316 764, @[email protected].
High prices
- 3 Hotel Villa Traiano, Avenue of the Rectors, 9 (In the center near the Trajan arch.), ☎ 39 0824 326241, fax: 39 0824 326196, @[email protected]. Few rooms but of a high standard.
