Editing Benevento (section)

==Main sights==
===Ancient remains===

'''The Arch of Trajan'''
[[File:Arch of Trajan (Benevento) 01.jpg|thumb|Arch of Trajan.]]
The importance of Benevento in classical times is vouched for by the many remains of [[Ancient history|antiquity]] which it possesses, of which the most famous is the [[Arch of Trajan (Benevento)|triumphal arch]] erected in honour of [[Trajan]] by the [[Roman Senate|senate]] and people of [[Rome]] in 114, with important reliefs relating to its history. Enclosed in the walls, this construction marked the entrance in Benevento of the [[Via Traiana]], the road built by the Spanish emperor to shorten the path from Rome to [[Brindisi]]. The reliefs show the civil and military deeds of Trajan. A great part of the arch is decorated with scenes in bas relief: particularly the pillars directed to the town represent scenes of peace and military scenes.  The two faces of the Arch are identical in the arrangement of the reliefs. That the reliefs are for the most part not merely fanciful, nor chiefly conventional and decorative in theme and treatment, is also clear at first sight. They plainly refer to actual events and actions in the life of Trajan, whose effigy, sometimes decapitated, appears in all but two of them, one of which is the only one on all the Arch that is substantially defective.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Truesdell Merrill|first=Elmer|date=1901|title=Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association – Some Observations on the Arch of Trajan at Beneventum|journal=The Johns Hopkins University Press|volume=32|pages=43–63}}</ref> The height of the monument is of {{Convert|15.6|m|ft}}, with an arch of {{Convert|8|m|ft|abbr=on}}, a structure composed of limestone rocks and a marble covering. The arch was put during the Middle Age in the fenced area of the town, in order to represent the ''Porta Aurea,'' on account of its fair proportions and the wealth and excellence of its sculptural adornments.<ref name=":0" />

'''Other considerable remains'''

[[File:Arco del Sacramento.jpg|thumb|Arch of the Sacrament.]]
There are other considerable remains from ancient era:
* The well-preserved [[Roman Theatre, Benevento|ancient theatre]], next to the Cathedral and the Port'Arsa gate. This grandiose building was erected by [[Hadrian]], and later expanded by [[Caracalla]]. It is a testimony of the presence of different Hellenic tendencies, in opposition to the previous art of Traiano. The theater, oriented toward the Taburno, has a diameter of {{Convert|90|m|ft|abbr=on}} and could house up to 10,000 spectators; it was covered with polychrome marble decorated with plaster and mosaics. During the 18th century on one extremity of the hemicycle was built the church of Santa Maria della Verità. The archaeologist Almerico Meomartini at the end of the 19th century promised the restoration but the works ended only in 1957; from that moment the theater is used for theater, dance, and opera performances. But has been lost a part of the marble cover; until today have survived the cavea, the scenery and the first two arches. 
* A large [[cryptoporticus]] {{Convert|60|m|ft|abbr=on}} long, known as the ruins of ''Santi Quaranta'', and probably an [[Marketplace|emporium]]. According to Meomartini, the portion preserved is only a fraction of the whole, which once measured {{Convert|520|m|ft|abbr=on}} in length.
* A brick arch called ''Arco del Sacramento''.
* The ''Ponte Leproso'', a bridge on the Via Appia over the Sabato river, below the city center.
* [[Thermae]] along the road to [[Avellino]].
* The ''Bue Apis'', popularly known as ''Aufara'' ("buffalo"). It is a basement in the shape of an ox or bull coming from the Temple of Isis.

Many inscriptions and ancient fragments may be seen built into the old houses. In 1903 the foundations of the Temple of Isis were discovered close to the Arch of Trajan, and many fragments of fine sculptures in both the Egyptian and the Greco-Roman style belonging to it were found. They had apparently been used as the foundation of a portion of the [[city wall]], reconstructed in 663 under the fear of an attack by the [[Byzantine emperor]] [[Constans II (Byzantine Empire)|Constans II]], the temple having been destroyed by order of the bishop, [[St Barbatus]], to provide the necessary material (A. Meomartini, 0. Marucchi and L. Savignoni in ''Notizie degli Scavi'', 1904, 107 sqq.).

===Santa Sofia===
[[File:Santa Sofia, Benevento 02.jpg|thumb|right|The church of ''Santa Sofia''.]]
{{main|Santa Sofia, Benevento}}
The church of ''Santa Sofia'' is a circular Lombard edifice dating to c. 760, now modernized, of small proportions, and is one of the main examples of religious [[Lombard architecture]]. The plan consists of a central hexagon with, at each vertex, columns taken from the temple of [[Isis]]; these are connected by arches which support the cupola. The inner hexagon is in turn enclosed in a decagonal ring with eight white limestone pillars and two columns next to the entrance. The church has a fine [[cloister]] of the 12th century, constructed in part of fragments of earlier buildings.<ref name="EB1911"/> This cloister today is the location of the Museo del Sannio. The church interior was once totally frescoed by [[Byzantine art|Byzantine]] artists: fragments of these paintings, portraying the ''Histories of Christ'', can be still seen in the two side apses.

Santa Sofia was almost destroyed by the [[1688 Sannio earthquake|earthquake of 1688]], and rebuilt in [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] forms by commission of the then cardinal Orsini of Benevento (later [[Pope Benedict XIII]]). The original forms were hidden, and were recovered only after the discussed restoration of 1951.

In 2011, it became a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] as part of a group of seven inscribed as [[Longobards in Italy, Places of Power (568-774 A.D.)]].

===The Cathedral===

[[File:Duomo (Benevento) 01.jpg|thumb|The cathedral.]]
{{main|Benevento Cathedral}}
The [[Cathedral]] of Santa Maria Assunta, with its arcaded façade and incomplete square [[campanile]] (begun in 1279 by the archbishop Romano Capodiferro) dates from the 9th century.<ref name="EB1911"/> It was rebuilt in 1114, the façade inspired by the Pisan Gothic style. Its bronze doors, adorned with [[bas-relief]]s, are notable example of [[Romanesque art]] which may belong to the beginning of the 13th century. The interior is in the form of a [[basilica]], the double aisles carried on ancient columns. There are ambones resting on columns supported by lions, and decorated with reliefs and coloured marble mosaic, and a candelabrum of 1311.<ref name="EB1911"/> A marble statue of the apostle San Bartolomeo, by Nicola da Monteforte, is also from the 14th century.  The cathedral also contains a statue of St. [[Giuseppe Moscati]], a native of the area. The cathedral was completely destroyed in 1943 because of bombardments: what remained of the cathedral were just the bell tower, the façade and the crypt. Another testimony of the cathedral is the XII century bronze door, the Janua Major, composed of 72 tiles with bas relief, whose fragments were rebuilt after the Second World War. 
The current monument, with its modern aspect, was completed in 1965 and restored between 2005 and 2012.

===Rocca dei Rettori===
[[File:Rocca dei Rettori, a castle in Benevento, southern Italy.jpg|thumb|Rocca dei Rettori.]]
{{main|Rocca dei Rettori}}
The castle of Benevento, best known as ''Rocca dei Rettori'' or ''Rocca di Manfredi'', stands at the highest point of the town, commanding the valley of the rivers Sabato and Calore, and the two main ancient roads Via Appia and Via Traiana. The site had been already used by the Samnites, who had constructed here a set of defensive terraces, and the Romans, with a thermal plant (''Castellum aquae''), whose remains can be still seen in the castle garden. The [[Benedictines]] had a monastery there. It received the current name in the Middle Ages, when it became the seat of the Papal governors, the ''Rettori''.

The castle is in fact made by two distinct edifices: the Torrione ("Big Tower"), which was built by the Lombards starting from 871, and the Palazzo dei Governatori, built by the Popes from 1320.

===Other sights===
[[File:Teatro romano (Benevento) 02.jpg|thumb|The Roman theatre.]]
[[File:Chiesa di Sant'Ilario a Port' Aurea 01.jpg|thumb|Chiesa di Sant'Ilario a Port' Aurea.]]
* '''''Roman theatre''''': begun during [[Hadrian]]'s rule, completed under [[Caracalla]] between 200 and 210 A.D. The theater reflects the town's increasing importance after the opening of the [[Via Appia Traiana]]. It was located in the western sector of the ancient city, near the forum, and houses built atop the ruins aided in its conservation. Excavated and restored after the second world war, the original three-storey theater could house 20,000 people. Currently only the lower order of the building remains: the arches of the facade communicate with the interior through a series of corridors alternating with stairs. <ref>{{Cite book|last=Zevi|first=L.|title=Guida a Benevento|publisher=Edizioni Dedalo|year=1993|page=62}}</ref>
* '''''Sant'Ilario'''''  Church documented in the 12th-century ''Ecclesia Vocabolo Sancti Ylari''", but excavations date part of the structure to 7th or 8th century. It is called Sant'Ilario a Port'Aurea, as it is built near the Arch of Trajan. The rectangular layout was erected on an artificial embankment. In late antiquity, the entire complex was abandoned. The church is composed of an apsed hall. The cover of the outside is formed by two separate tiburi. A monastery was once attached to the church. Devastated by the earthquake of 1688, in 1712 it was deconsecrated and used as a farmhouse. The restoration of the entire building was carried out in 2000.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gangale|first=Lucia|title=25 luoghi imperdibili della città di Benevento|publisher=youcanprint|year=2018|page=15}}</ref>
* '''''Palazzo di Paolo V''''' (16th century). 
* '''''San Salvatore''''': Church dating from the High Middle Ages.
* '''''San Francesco alla Dogana''''': [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]]-style church located north-east of Piazza del Duomo, incorporated between alleys and palaces in the heart of the historic center, there is Piazza Dogana with the church and convent of San Francesco. Here stood the papal customs, through which the goods passed and were taxed. The thirteenth-century church of San Francesco, that stands in the center of the square, is linked to the coming of the saint in the city, in 1222. It was built by incorporating the ancient church of San Costanzo, which in 1243 was donated to the religious from lords Stampalupo, Del Giudice and Cantalupo. After the earthquake of 1702, the architects Fontana rebuilt the high altar, which Archbishop Vincenzo Maria Orsini consecrated to the Immaculate Virgin. The facade is very simple, the interior, Gothic style, with a single nave with wooden ceiling. The apse has some frescoes and the church is flanked by two cloisters.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gangale|first=Lucia|title=25 luoghi imperdibili della città di Benevento|publisher=youcanprint|year=2018|pages=31–32}}</ref>
*'''''Annunziata''''': A church at the site existed prior to 1500s, but entirely rebuilt in [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]]-style after the 1688 earthquake. The church has a single nave with three side chapels on each side.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zevi|first=L.|title=Guida a Benevento|publisher=Edizioni Dedalo|year=1993|pages=70}}</ref>
**'''''San Bartolomeo''''': Baroque church dedicated to the patron apostle of the city. It was rebuilt  after the 1688 and 1702 earthquakes, the prior basilica of San Bartolomeo had stood in the area of Piazza Orsini, adjacent to the cathedral. In 1705, a large baroque fountain was built at the prior site, but destroyed by bombings in 1943. The new basilica, located along Corso Garibaldi, was built between 1726 and 1729 and consecrated by [[Pope Benedict XIII]]. The present church, although partially using a primitive project by Fra Tommaso di Sangiovanni (prior of San Diodato), is in fact the work of Raguzzini to whom we owe not only some substantial planovolumetric modifications, but also the elegant stucco decorations and the two-tiered front overlapping on high plinth.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Zevi|first=L.|title=Guida a Benevento|publisher=Edizioni Dedalo|year=1993|page=68}}</ref> 
**'''''San Filippo''''': Baroque church