Maddaloni

Maddaloni is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, in the province of Caserta, about 5 kilometres (3 mi) southeast of Caserta, with stations on the railways from Caserta to Benevento and from Caserta to Naples. Main sights The city is at the base of one of the Tifata hills, the towers of its medieval castle and the Church of San Michele crowning the heights above. The fine old palace of the Caraffa family (once dukes of Maddaloni), the old college now named after Giordano Bruno, and the institute for the sons of soldiers are the chief points of interest. There are many old and beautiful churches that contain various important works of art. The 15th-century frescoes in the Gothic church of Santa Margherita and the Florentine painter Giovanni Balducci's masterpiece (1560 until after 1644), a series of paintings that decorate the rich wooden ceiling in the church of the Annunziata and were painted in the first five years of the 17th century, are only two examples of a particularly rich artistic heritage that is a reminder of the importance and wealth of the ruling Carafa family at that time. There are also two museums: the Museo Civico and the Museo Archeologico which contains pre-Roman tombs and objects from the ancient city of Calatia. There are many important schools in Maddaloni. In fact the "Convitto Nazionale Giordano Bruno" is the oldest public secondary school in the province of Caserta. It was founded in 1807 in the ex-Franciscan convent where one of the largest paintings in the world can be seen covering the entire ceiling of the great hall. It is 720 square metres (7,800 sq ft). The "Villaggio dei Ragazzi" was originally a school for orphans founded in 1947 by local priest Don Salvatore D'Angelo. The private school has become an important centre of learning in the province and has been run by the religious order The Legion of Christ since its founder died in 2000. Giulietta Sacco, who was born here in 1944 and still lives in Maddaloni, is considered to have been one of the most important singers of Neapolitan songs in the late 1960s and 1970s. She was famous all over the world. About 4 kilometres (2 mi) east of Valle di Maddaloni is the Ponte della Valle, an aqueduct built by the orders of Charles III of Naples and his son. It was built to convey the water of the Taburno to Caserta across the valley between Monte Longano and Monte Gargano. In that area, the aqueduct goes past a threefold series of arches rising to a height of nearly 100 metres (330 ft) and measuring 529 metres (1,736 ft) long. References This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.