Everything about Aversa totally explained
Aversa is a town in the
Campania region of southern
Italy, about 15 kilometres north of
Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the
agro aversano, producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical
buffalo mozzarella). Aversa is also the main seat of the
faculties of
Architecture and
Engineering 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
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 didn't 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 I 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 Hungary, head of the
house of Anjou, 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.
Famous people from Aversa
- Gaetano Andreozzi, musician
- Vincenzo Caianiello, jurist
- Domenico Cimarosa, opera composer
- Carmelina Fedele, record holder for largest baby born by a healthy mother
- Annamaria Iodice, Local journalist and Sports writer
- Niccolò Jommelli, classical composer
- Antonio Ruberti, politician and engineer
- Filippo Saporito, psychiatrist
- Lennie Tristano, jazz pianist and composer
- Alessandro Verde, Roman Catholic cardinal
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, dedicated to Saint Paul, has a spectacular ambulatory and a majestic octagonal dome. Francesco Solimena'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 in 1813.
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.
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 d'Errico, Francesco de Mura, Massimo Stanzione, and Paolo de Majo.
The Italian Penitentiary Police (Italys Corrections/Prison Officers) training facility is located in one of the historic castles in AversaFurther Information
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