Associazione Città Italiane Patrimonio Mondiale UNESCO

Caserta lies at the North eastern edge of the Campania plain and is partly hemmed in by the Tifatini mountain range.
Formerly Galatia, it was founded by the Etruscans. First reports of a settlement where the city now stands appeared in the 9th century BC. When the city was captured by the Samnites in 423 BC, its inhabitants swore loyalty to Hannibal against Rome, for which it was punished (211 BC) with the confiscation of approximately two hundred yokes, the equivalent of sixty hectares (150 acres). This system allowed the Roman authorities to allocate land to their friends. Until the fall of the Roman Empire in AD 476, Galatia remained a colony. With the subsequent barbarian invasions, the city began its slow descent towards its final destruction in 863 at the hands of “Pandone il Rapace” who forced the locals to take refuge in the hills.
After his death, a vicious struggle began for control of the land between his sons and his brother Landolfo, bishop of nearby Capua. The violent epoch of Lombard domination featured continuous wars of succession. It was during this period that the main tower was built at the crossroads and around it sprang up the rudiments of a town.
With the Norman invasions, Caserta was subjected to new masters who introduced feudal rule and the laws of chivalry to the county – then state – of Caserta. In 1113, the diocese of Caserta became independent of Capua and work on a cathedral was begun.
The city enjoyed remarkable stability and growth during the reign of Count Robert and, after completion of the cathedral; work began on the bishop’s palace and the Casa Canonica that imposed the rectangular layout of the main square.
The reign later passed to the Swabian dynasty and amongst the many noteworthy names of that period is that of Richard who had been schooled at the court of Frederick II. Richard married the Emperor’s daughter and after his father in law’s demise, was unable to deal with the incessant problems facing him. He side-stepped the Frankish armies of Charles of Anjou at the Ceprano pass and thus took Manfred by surprise at Benevento where he won.
The Caserta fief was passed down the line during Angevine rule until, in 1310, it was given to Diego della Ratta. In 1325, he bequeathed the city to his infant son, Francesco.
At this time, building work was begun on the Chiesa dell’Annunziata and other churches in Gothic style as well as on many refined homes.
The reign that had seen varying periods of rule, passed to Alphonse V of Aragon. Caterina Della Ratta married Cesare d’Aragona, the king’s natural son, who first met in battle the army of Charles VIII and then that of Luigi XII. Beaten by the Franks, he was forced into exile until he died in 1504.
In 1509 Caterina Della Ratta married again, this time to Andrea Matteo Acquaviva, the Duke of Atri and Count of Conversano. He was one of the wealthiest feudal lords in the kingdom reign and was the first of the Acquaviva seignory that continued until 1634. Andrea Matteo Acquaviva was a cultured and sophisticated man who was interested in both politics and martial studies as well as philosophy and literature. After his marriage to Caterina Della Ratta, he gave his permission for the betrothal of his nephew Giulio Antonio to the grand daughter of the Countess of Caserta, Anna Gambacorta. The new lieges grew richer and reinforced the castle and the city with new defensive walls and towers.
After various hardships, the fief passed to the second born of Anna Gambacorta, Baldassare who was a valiant leader in the service of Charles V and Phillip II.
The spiritual and cultural revival of the 16th century was also felt in Caserta on both fronts. New Renaissance cultural concepts appeared and a spiritual crisis was initiated by the Lutheran reform.
It was after Baldassare that the villages around the tower saw their period of major growth. Giulio Antonio and Andrea Matteo became princes as the mediaeval town continued down the slow road to decline. The Acquaviva prince left his daughter Anna as sole heir. She had married Francesco Gaetani di Sermoneta whose family ruled the state of Caserta up to when the Royal palace was built. Caserta suffered much hardship including the plague that devastated the population. In 1708, bishop Schinosi founded a cultural centre near the college that he too had established. This new centre availed of the intellect of many well-known characters in the fields of literature and science. A well-stocked library that was open to the public was added to the college.
With the arrival of Charles of Bourbon in 1734, Caserta enjoyed a period of true splendour and saw both the construction of the Royal Palace and an overall restoration of the city. The project was entrusted to Luigi Vanvitelli who also oversaw the building of the Carolina Aqueduct designed to supply the waterfalls and fountains in the Royal Park.
Vanvitelli was also responsible for laying out the park and the English Garden. Caserta had by this stage all the trappings of a court city and when the diocesan seat was soon after transferred there, a new cathedral was the next project. Caserta under Ferdinand II saw yet more growth and became central to court and state affairs. In the ten years leading to the Unification, Caserta clearly felt the effects of the Renaissance and continued to grow.
After defeating the Bourbon army at the battle of Volturno, Garibaldi set up his general headquarters at Caserta. Garibaldi’s victory led to the realm’s annexation of the Kingdom of the two Sicilies to the Kingdom of Sardinia. From 1860 to 1919 events followed involving the Savoy family. At the beginning of the 19th century, Caserta became home to numerous universities and military academies. From this time on, the middle-classes grew in number. Caserta was home to the Italian Aeronautical Academy between 1926 and 1943. After the allied landing at Salerno in December of 1943, it was taken over by the allies. The surrender of the German forces in Italy was signed here on April 29, 1945.