Etappe 7 - vrijdag 13 mei Vertrekpunt: Maddaloni - Montevergine di Mercogliano Afstand: 100 km

FROM MADDALONI TO MONTEVERGINE DI MERCOGLIANO

I Ponti della Valle
The Carolino aqueduct, a Unesco World Heritage, is an audacious style and engineering masterpiece by architect Luigi Vanvitelli. It has been built in the mid-eighteenth century in order to conduct the waters of the Fizzo springs, at the foot of the Tiburno, up to the Reggia di Caserta. The aqueduct is 529 meters long (at that time it featured the longest bridge in Europe), and 50 meters high, with triple arcades reminding the Roman bridges, but in a much more magnificent way. The construction is known under the name of Ponte delle Valli and became a part of history with the battle between Garibaldi’s forces under the commandment of Nino Bixio, and Francesco II troops. During the summer season the area is used for picnics and street traders selling “‘o pede e ‘o musso”, a tasty “Delicatessen” made of veal’s foot and snout seasoned with lemon and salt, are often to be seen.

Caserta
The magnificence of the royal palace earned the monument the surname of Southern Versailles. Sumptuous Rooms and Apartments are open to visitors who can admire frescoes, ornaments, tapestries, precious brocades, the rich Library, the Picture Gallery displaying portraits of the Bourbon family and still life dating back to the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the Court Theater (a perfect reproduction in a reduced scale of the Naples’ San Carlo). The visit continues along the wide Italian Park: very picturesque, elegant, with fountains, basins, and cascades. The English Garden is a casket for rare exotic plants, embellished with hothouses, flowerbeds and groves.

Avellino
Despite the injuries due to the 1942’s bombings and the number of sustained earthquakes, the historical town center presents many sites worth visiting. For example the Torre dell’Orologio, which remained standing while the populated area was collapsing under the WWII bombings and is still nowadays a symbol of the city; the three architectural orders bear baroque decorations; or the Duomo, a mix of various styles due to the many restorations. Built in a neo-classical style, the inside of the monument presents a remarkable wooden choir dating back to the sixteenth century and a picturesque crypt decorated with frescoes of the late eighteenth century, as well as medieval columns and capitals resulting from the rehabilitation of Roman vestiges.