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Old Caserta is a charming hamlet that lies at the foot of the Tifatini Mountains, 400 meters above sea level and 10 km from the center of Caserta. It is not difficult to reach the medieval village, just take a scenic road from Caserta to the old town and then park at the entrance to the village, graced by a pine forest of fir trees.
A stroll through the village is ideal for those who want to spend a peaceful day surrounded by the historic beauty that what was once an ancient village still holds today. Losing yourself in the cobblestone alleys you will discover ruins, historic buildings, stores and breathtaking views.
Along the first climb to the village you will encounter the Hawk Tower, a symbol of the country, which at 30 meters is the Europe's second tallest tower. Afterwards you can visit the ruins of the ancient castle. It is thought that the Castle of Casertavecchia was built around 861 AD by the counts of Capua and fortified by the Normans and the Swabians. It initially dominated the surrounding area with its 6 watchtowers; unfortunately, over time it lost its shape due to assaults and earthquakes, so today only a few ruins and part of the walls remain. Nevertheless, it is pleasant to walk around the castle courtyard, surrounded by the mystery that hovers around this ancient legacy and the ghost story of the Countess Siffridina.
Continuing on you will come across the Annunziata Church, built in the 1300s in a completely Gothic style. You'll be able to take some pretty pictures looking out from the little alleyway that leads to the entrance of the church.
The heart of the village is Bishop's Square, which accepts the Cathedral, l'former seminary and the Bishop's Palace. In addition to housing major historic buildings, it is also the center of city life-you can stop for coffee and savor the calm that reigns supreme here.
The star of the square is the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel, the main religious building in the town, built between 1113 and 1153. The structure turns out to be characteristic especially for the dome with an arabesque style in contrast to the medieval artistic base with which it was built. Behind the marvelous marble columns of the nave is an almost fairy-tale legend to listen to: it is thought that the columns originally belonged to a Romanesque structure located at the foot of the village, so one wondered how they were transported to the square with the meager means of the time. The story goes that the columns were transported by the fairies of the Tifatini Mountains, loading them on their shoulders and carrying them to the top of the village.
According to some art historians, the floor plan of the Old Caserta Cathedral was built in imitation of the Abbey of Monte Cassino which was destroyed in 1349. This abbey had been built between 1058 and 1087 at the behest of theCassinese abbot Desiderius, who taking the art of Constantinople as a reference wanted to make it "the wonder of the West." Nevertheless, it is likely that alternatively it was built in imitation of a very well-known 12th-century building, which unfortunately has not reached posterity. According to other historians, however, some construction details were also induced by artists working in Amalfi.
Locals are wont to decorate their streets and homes in unusual and original ways.
By recycling unused or old objects and clothes, people create puppets, vases or decorative arrangements for the premises or for their own homes, leaving tourists fascinated, intrigued and impressed by the citizens' imagination.
Entering the craft stores of the place, you will be able to take away with you a spirit, i.e. a colorful terracotta jar with a leprechaun painted above it. The latter is the symbol of the village, the so-called spirit of Casertavecchia: a "mazzamurello," that is, a very clever folkloric creature with curly blond hair who gets up to all sorts of mischief. Many believe that it brings good luck to the house in which it decides to stay; in fact, it is traditional to place a note in the jar with one's wish written on it.
The story of the spirit refers back to a German woman named Ursula, lived in the 1970s. Ursula bought the ruins of a mansion that was once the St. Peter's Church and transformed it into what is now known as the famous Mullioned House, named for the two mullioned windows on the facade.
While Ursula waited for the work on her own house to be completed, she was often hosted by locals. One day, observing the shape of the copper pots with which beans were cooked, she imagined making these earthenware jars by drawing eyes, nose and mouth on them and then calling them "little faces."
When her house was finished, she opened a workshop where she began selling the jars. These creations came to be associated with the spirit since a psychic friend saw the jars and immediately exclaimed, "The spirit!" sensing the presence of benevolent souls in the house.
Legend has it that the ghost of Countess Siffridina, wife of Thomas de Lauro, still roams around the Castle of Old Caserta today. The countess's son, Richard, upon his father's death married the daughter of Frederick II of Swabia. When Richard died, the kingdom passed into the hands of his son Corradin, accompanied by his grandmother Siffridina. With the coming of the d'Anjou at Kingdom of Naples, Siffridina urged her grandson to rebel against the French as he had no sympathy for the new king, inciting him to join Corradin of Swabia. At this point, however, the King Charles had her captured and sentenced her to life imprisonment.
This long imprisonment was served far from the village of Caserta Vecchia that she loved so much; in fact, she was imprisoned in the Swabian Castle of Trani in Apulia. The countess died at the age of eighty in March 1279, but according to popular belief her spirit returned to the village, wandering around the Castle and the Norman Tower: some say that on some silent evenings it is still possible to hear her wails of distress at being far from home.
The origins of the medieval village probably date back to around 870, as some sources say there was already a small village named casam hirtam. In the 6th century the longobardi occupied a large part of present-day Campania and constituted the vast Duchy of Benevento, which had some articulations and among them the county of Capua.
The area was subjected to repeated Saracen attacks, in fact in the year 841 they also destroyed the ancient Roman city of Capua, the ruins of which are now visible in today's Santa Maria Capua Vetere. The insecurity of the area therefore forced the inhabitants to seek safer locations, among them the village that later became the hamlet of Caserta Vecchia.
Having exhausted the local power of the Lombards, from about 1057 the area passed to the Normans of Aversa. Some time later King Roger I appointed Robert of Lauro count of Caserta, whose descendants administered the territory until 1268.
Before coming under the direct control of the Bourbon of Naples, Caserta Vecchia was administered by several noble families. With the subsequent construction of the famous Royal Palace of Caserta and the development of settlement on the plains, the inhabitants of the village were greatly reduced and the focus of power was transferred to the valley.
