What to see · Maddaloni

More places of interest

• Museo Archeologico di Calatia

  The Museo archeologico nazionale di Calatia is in Maddaloni, the municipality whose territory included the ancient city of Calatia. Opened in 2003, it is housed in the Casino di Starza Penta, a fortified sixteenth-century farmhouse that was one of the main residences of the Carafa della Stadera: their coat of arms dominates the vault of the entrance gateway. King Charles of Bourbon was often a guest here during his hunting trips.

  What to see

  The display follows three themes: the territory, the city and the necropolis. In its five rooms the finds reconstruct daily life in Calatia from the eighth century BC. On the ground floor, in rooms once used for farm work, is the section on the territory, the city and the cemeteries; on the upper floor, in the private and reception rooms arranged in «quarti», the story covers roads, the aristocracies between the sixth and fifth centuries BC and the lives of women and men in the Orientalising period.

  In the inner courtyard is a faithful reconstruction of a domus, studied by the university, with an exhibition on the phases of the excavation and the finds recovered.

  Visiting

  The route is designed to be followed independently, and is also planned for people with disabilities. Opening times and tickets should be checked on the museum's official website.

  Our editors' tip

  Do not leave without seeing the eighteenth-century chapel inside the farmhouse: a small centrally planned building, with three marble altars and a barrel vault decorated with white and gold stucco.

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