Aversa () is a city and '' comune'' in the

Province of Caserta The Province of Caserta ( it, Provincia di Caserta) is a province in the Campania region of southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Caserta, situated about by road north of Naples. The province has an area of , and had a total population of 9 ...

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical buffalo

mozzarella Mozzarella (, ; nap, muzzarella ) is a southern Italian cheese traditionally made from Italian buffalo's milk by the pasta filata method. Fresh mozzarella is generally white but when seasoned it turns to a light yellow depending on the anim ...

). Aversa is also the main seat of the faculties of

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

and Engineering of the ''Seconda università degli studi di Napoli'' (Second University of Naples). With a population of 52,974 (2017), it is the second city of the province after

Caserta Caserta () 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 Ca ...

Geography

Aversa is located near the city of Naples; it is separated by only 24 kilometres from Naples and by 26 kilometres from

, the administrative centre of the province of the same name. The municipality borders

Carinaro Carinaro is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about north of Naples and about southwest of Caserta. Carinaro borders the following municipalities: Aversa, Gricignano di Aversa, Marcia ...

Casaluce Casaluce is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about north of Naples and about southwest of Caserta. Casaluce borders the following municipalities: Aversa, Frignano, San Tammaro, Sant ...

Cesa Cesa is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about north of Naples and about southwest of Caserta. Cesa borders the following municipalities: Aversa, Gricignano di Aversa, Sant'Antimo, ...

Frignano Frignano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about northwest of Naples and about southwest of Caserta. Frignano borders the following municipalities: Aversa, Casaluce Casaluce is a ...

, Giugliano in Campania, Gricignano di Aversa, Lusciano,

San Marcellino San Marcellino ( nap, San Marciullin) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about northwest of Naples and about southwest of Caserta. San Marcellino borders the following municipalitie ...

Sant'Antimo Sant'Antimo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 13 km north of Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new ...

Teverola Teverola is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about north of Naples and about southwest of Caserta. Teverola borders the following municipalities: Aversa, Carinaro, Casaluce, Santa M ...

and

Trentola Ducenta Trentola Ducenta is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about northwest of Naples and about southwest of Caserta. Trentola Ducenta borders the following municipalities: Aversa, Casapese ...

. It is located in a fertile coastal plain north of Naples, thus 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.

History

Prehistory

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.

Lower middle ages

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.

Aversa County

:''See also

List of Counts of Aversa In 1030, the first Norman foothold in the Mezzogiorno was created when Sergius IV of Naples gave the town and vicinity of Aversa as a county to Ranulf. The following are the counts of Aversa: * Rainulf I 1030–1045 *Asclettin 1045 (nephew of pre ...

''. The present-day Aversa, which replaced the nearby city of

Atella Atella was an ancient Oscan city of Campania, located 20km directly north of Naples. Remains The ruins of the city walls, private houses, the so-called ''garden of Virgil'' and many tombs remain, on sites in the ''comuni'' of Frattaminore, Or ...

that had been laid waste during the

Gothic Wars The Gothic Wars were a long series of conflicts between the Goths and the Roman Empire between the years 249 and 554. The main wars are detailed below. Gothic War (249–253) (Goths under Cniva against the Roman Empire) The War was probably i ...

, was the first of the Norman territories in the Mediterranean. In 1030, the site was ceded to

Rainulf Drengot Rainulf Drengot (also Ranulph, Ranulf, or Rannulf; died June 1045) was a Norman adventurer and mercenary in southern Italy. In 1030 he became the first count of Aversa. He was a member of the Drengot family. Early life and arrival in Italy When ...

, a cadet of the lords of Quarrel near

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

in Normandy; he was invested as count by Duke

Sergius IV of Naples Sergius IV (died after 1036) 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. He was nominally a Byzantine vassal, like his fathe ...

and confirmed by

Emperor Conrad II Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...

. 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.The former seat had been at Atella (''CE''); Atella remains a titular bishopric today
Catholic-hierarchy.com
. One of the first bishops was the Norman

Guitmund The Norman Guitmund (died c. 1090–1095), Bishop of Aversa, was a Benedictine monk who was an opponent of the teachings of Berengar of Tours. In his youth Guitmund entered the monastery of La-Croix-Saint-Leufroy in the Diocese of Évreux. By 106 ...

(died c. 1090–95), a Benedictine monk, theologian, and opponent of

Berengar of Tours Berengar of Tours (died 6 January 1088), in Latin Berengarius Turonensis, was an 11th-century French Christian theologian and archdeacon of Angers, a scholar whose leadership of the cathedral school at Chartres set an example of intellectual i ...

. 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 Pope Leo IX (21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historically ...

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.

Angevins

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 threw her husband

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derive ...

from a window with a rope around his neck. His brother,

King Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great ( hu, Nagy Lajos; hr, Ludovik Veliki; sk, Ľudovít Veľký) or Louis the Hungarian ( pl, Ludwik Węgierski; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1342 and King of ...

, head of the

Capetian House of Anjou The Capetian House of Anjou or House of Anjou-Sicily, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct French House of Capet, part of the Capetian dynasty. It is one of three separate royal houses referred to as ''Angevin'', meaning "from Anjou" ...

, marched 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 (about 1315) an orphanage and hospice that occupied a central place in Aversan public life.

Crown of Aragon

When Alfonso V of Aragon permanently enthroned the kingdom of Naples within the domains of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Ba ...

, Aversa continued to maintain the privileges it had enjoyed. Soon the epidemics and subdivisions of land caused it to be relegated as a peripheral urban center of Naples.

Fifteenth century

In the fourteenth or fifteenth century the County of Aversa was taken over by a family from Valencia, the Pròixida. In fact, the palace of the Count of Almenara in Almenara (Castellón) is also known as the palace of the Count of Aversa.

Demographics

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Gastronomy

Aversa DOC

Italian wine Italian wine is produced in every region of Italy. Italy is the world's largest producer of wine, with an area of under vineyard cultivation, and contributing a 2013–2017 annual average of 48.3 million hl of wine. In 2018 Italy accounted for ...

, both white and sparkling, under the Aversa

DOC appellation The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine: * ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”), * ''Indicazione geografica tip ...

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 Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

to a minimum

alcohol level Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

of 10.5% for still and 11% for the ''

spumante Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne reg ...

'' style.P. Saunders ''Wine Label Language'' pg 124 Firefly Books 2004 The primary

grape variety This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried ( raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see V ...

of the region is the

Asprinio Asprinio bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety grown primarily in southwest Italy around the Naples region of Campania. It is currently not believed to be related to the similarly named French wine grape of the Languedoc region, Aspiran. I ...

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 Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ra ...

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.

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. Among its monuments: *The Romanesque

Duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition n ...

, dedicated to

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, has a spectacular

ambulatory The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11 ...

and a majestic octagonal dome.

Francesco Solimena Francesco Solimena (4 October 1657 – 3 April 1747) 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 in the province of A ...

's ''Madonna of the Gonfalone''and the Quattrocento painter

Angiolillo Arcuccio Angiolillo Arcuccio (Naples, active 1440–1492) was an Italian painter of the early Renaissance. Few works are authenticated. He is best exemplified by the Annunciation altarpiece (1483) at the church of the Annunciation just outside Sant'Agata de ...

'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 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. *Other churches in the city conserve paintings by

Guido da Siena Guido of Siena, was an Italian painter, active during the 13th-century in Siena, and painting in an Italo-Byzantine style. Biography The name Guido is known from the large panel in the church of San Domenico, Siena of th''Virgin and Child Enthr ...

Polidoro da Caravaggio Polidoro Caldara, usually known as Polidoro da Caravaggio ( – 1543) was an Italian painter of the Mannerist period, "arguably the most gifted and certainly the least conventional of Raphael's pupils", who was best known for his now-vanished ...

Marco Pino da Siena Marco Pino or Marco da Siena (1521–1583) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance and Mannerist period. Born in Costalpino and first trained in Siena, he later worked in Rome and in Naples, where he died. He was putatively a pupil of the pain ...

Pietro da Cortona Pietro da Cortona (; 1 November 1596 or 159716 May 1669) was an Italian Baroque painter and architect. Along with his contemporaries and rivals Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini, he was one of the key figures in the emergence of Roman ...

Pietro Negroni Pietro Negroni, also called Il Giovane Zingaro (''the young gypsy'') and Lo zingarello di Cosenza (''the little gypsy from Cosenza'')Marisa Reale, Pietro Negroni - Lo zingarello di Cosenza, , FPE Franco Pangallo Editore, 2011 ( – 1565), was a ...

''il Giovane Zingaro'', Giuseppe Ribera, Cornelius Smeet, Abram Vink, Teodoro d'Errico,

Francesco de Mura Francesco de Mura (21 April 1696 – 19 August 1782) was an Italian painter of the late-Baroque period, active mainly in Naples and Turin. His late work reflects the style of neoclassicism. Life Francesco de Mura, also referred to as ''Fran ...

, Massimo Stanzione, and Paolo de Maio. *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 (Italy's Correction Officers) training facility

Transportation

Aversa railway station is 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 The Ferrovia Alifana is a former railway company of southern Italy. It held public passenger service on the rail line connection Naples to Piedimonte d'Alife (now Piedimonte Matese). In 2005 it was acquired by the MetroCampania NordEst (MCNE), ano ...

). Aversa is served by a suburban train, on the Naples–Aversa railway, that connects its stations ( Aversa Centro and Aversa Ippodromo) with

Piscinola Piscinola, or Piscinola-Marianella, is a northern suburb of Naples, Italy, with a population of ca. 20,000. It is bordered to the north by the Scampia district, north-west with the municipality of Mugnano of Naples, on the west by the Chiaiano d ...

, northern Naples, on the Line 1 of

Naples Metro The Naples Metro ( it, Metropolitana di Napoli; nap, Metrupulitana 'e Napule) is the rapid transit system serving the city of Naples, Italy. The system comprises three underground rapid transit lines ( Line 1, Line 6 and the Naples-Aversa M ...

. The nearest airport is that of Napoli-Capodichino, away. Aversa is connected to the

A1 Motorway A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...

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 A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for char ...

routes and one trolleybus route.

Sport

The local football club is the Aversa Normanna, founded in 1925, and its home ground is the

Augusto Bisceglia Stadium Augusto is an Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: * Augusto Aníbal *Augusto dos Anjos * Augusto Arbizo *Augusto Barbera (born 1938), Italian law professor, politician and judge * Augusto B ...

Notable people

Vincenzo Caianiello Vincenzo Caianiello (2 October 1932 – 26 April 2002) was an Italian jurist, member of the Constitutional Court of Italy from October 23, 1986 to October 23, 1995. Born in Aversa, Campania, he was the president of the Constitutional Court f ...

, jurist * Domenico Cimarosa, opera composer *

Niccolò Jommelli Niccolò Jommelli (; 10 September 1714 – 25 August 1774) was an Italian composer of the Neapolitan School. Along with other composers mainly in the Holy Roman Empire and France, he was responsible for certain operatic reforms including reduc ...

, classical composer * Antonio Ruberti, politician and engineer * Lennie Tristano, jazz pianist and composer *

Alessandro Verde Alessandro Verde (27 March 1865 – 29 March 1958) was an Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal and Archpriest of the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. Early life He was born in Sant'Antimo, and educated at the Seminary of Aversa, where he wa ...

, Roman Catholic cardinal *

Caterina Balivo Caterina Balivo (born 21 February 1980) is an Italian television presenter and model. Life and career Born in Naples, Balivo grew up in Aversa, Province of Caserta. In 1999 she entered the main competition at Miss Italia and she eventually ...

, Showgirl

Twin towns

Pratola Serra Pratola Serra is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, Italy. The area of the comune spread on the right bank of the Sabato river. The oldest part of the comune is the village of Serra di Pratola that lie on a hill overlo ...

, Italy * Alife, Italy

References

External links

Aversa official website
* * {{Authority control Cities and towns in Campania