Marcianise

Province: Caserta · Region: Campania · Population: 40,297 · Postal code: 81025

Marcianise is Italy's boxing capital without rhetoric: its school raised Olympic and world champions — Clemente Russo, twice Olympic silver, comes from here — and the gym is a civic institution as the theatre is elsewhere. This Terra di Lavoro city now lives on logistics and trade, with one of the South's largest industrial and outlet hubs.

The centre keeps the cathedral of San Michele and Baroque churches that surprise those arriving on business. Caserta and its Royal Palace are ten minutes away: a full-day pairing.