A view of Benevento with the Arch of Trajan in the centre.

Benevento

Just a few kilometers from Caserta you can visit Benevento defined as an "open-air museum" with its outstanding Roman monuments and Longobard World Heritage Site.

The Arch of Trajan is substantially intact, including some of the best-preserved sculptural reliefs decorating any Roman triumphal arch. – © Comune di Benevento

The Arch of Trajan was built between 114 and 117 in honour of the pacification of the German border by Trajan. – © Comune di Benevento

The Church of Santa Sofia, a triumph of Longobard art that was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, as part of a group of seven historic building complexes inscribed as Longobards in Italy, Places of Power (568–774 A.D.). – © Comune di Benevento

The Bronze Horse with a golden mask like that of Agamemnon which makes it almost divine, and seems to evoke the myth of the Trojan horse. – © Comune di Benevento

The Castle of Benevento or Rocca dei Rettori (Fortress of the Rectors) rises at the highest point of the historical centre. The building consists of two separate bodies: the angular Torrione, built by the Longobards, renovated in successive periods, and The Palatium, on three floors, where ancient details like barbicans are flanked with neoclassical elements. – © Comune di Benevento

The Arch of Trajan is substantially intact, including some of the best-preserved sculptural reliefs decorating any Roman triumphal arch. – © Comune di Benevento

Monuments of the Roman period include the Arch of Trajan, erected in honour of Trajan by the senate and people of Rome in 114, and the Roman Theater, erected by Hadrian in the 2nd century, and later expanded by Caracalla, with a diameter of 90 metres that could house up to 10,000-15,000 spectators and currently hosts theatre, dance, and opera performances.

A jewel of the Longobard period is the Church of Santa Sofia, dating to 760 A.D. with its beautiful cloister and the "Civitas Nova" with its perimeter walls, earning it a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Testimonies of the pontifical period are the majestic Rocca dei Reettori, the Duomo, Palazzo Paolo V, the Basilica of San Bartolomeo. Be sure to visit the Sannio Museum, with its exhibition path illustrating the history of the Sannio region from prehistory to modern age. A section is reserved for the exhibition of original examples of Roman and Egyptian statues: the objects of the Temple of Isis are one of the largest collections of Egyptian sculptures found outside Egypt.

Visit

Benevento

Hours

Sannio Museum:
9:00 – 13:00 | 15:00 - 18:30
Hortus Conclusus:
9:00 - 19:45. Closed on Mondays

Pricing

Sannio Museum:
€ 6 (You can visit also Casiello Palace, Santa Sofia Cloister, Isis collection, Arcos Museum, Arch of Trajan Museum)
Hortus Conclusus:
Free entry