L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 25, 2019 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano W hen we think of the South of Italy, our mind immedi- ately travels to the sapphire-blue of its sea and the fiery topaz oranges of its sunny skies. And if we say Campania, out come names like Naples, Capri, the Amalfi Coast or, for those more inclined towards the beauties of history, Pompeii, Her- colaneum and even Paestum. Travel a handful of miles inland, though, and unknown locations of natural and historical interest await to be rediscovered. It is our duty of Italians and Italophiles to be- come aware of them and pass on the word around about the trea- sures they hold for the world to see and enjoy. Benevento: a place steeped in history One of such places is the town of Benevento. Located between the rivers Sabato and Calore, Ben- evento is a place rich in history, to the point of being defined a true open air museum by many. Ac- cording to legends, Benevento was founded by the Homeric hero Diomedes, after he fought in the Trojan war, but history tells us it was the Osci, an ancient pre-Ro- man people who did it, and that the town was later conquered by the Samnites. A plethora of 8th and 7th century BC's pottery and bronze artifacts still bear witness to Benevento's pre-Roman roots and its very name has something to say about those times; it was originally called Maleventum, but when there the Romans finally de- feated Pyrrhus, they decided to change it to Beneventum, to cele- brate the positive event that took place on its soil. It was the year 275 BC, and Rome was still far from being the immense power it was to be some 200 years later. The Maleventum-Beneventum victory is fairly important in the history of Rome, though: first of all, they succeeded thanks to a cunning stratagem: Pyrrhus, a Greek General supported by the Samnites, had been winning bat- tles over battles thanks to the fact he used elephants. Now, the Ro- mans were great warriors but they knew nothing about pachyderms, so they were pretty terrified by them and couldn't figure out what to do. Until they finally realized these gentle animals were afraid of fire and started throwing flam- ing arrows at them. Pyrrhus was forced to retreat and eventually lost both the battle and the war. It was the beginning of Rome's con- quest of Magna Graecia and the starting point of their domination over the known world. During the Middle Ages, the Goths and the Byzantines made Benevento theirs, until the Lom- bards came in 571 and ruled over it until 1077, when it became part of the Papal State. Much later, in the 18th century, it was first con- quered by the Bourbons and then annexed to the Neapolitan Repub- lic. In 1806, Napoleon briefly ruled over it and, finally, in 1861, it became part of the Kingdom of Italy. Art and beauty in Benevento Samnites, Greeks and the Ro- mans. Goths, Byzantines and Lombards. Then the Pope, the Bourbons and even Napoleon: Benevento's varied historical path left marks on its art and architec- ture, too. The most ancient ves- tiges you can admire in town be- long to Rome: the Trajan Arch was built in 114 AD and still watches over Beneventan people after almost two millennia. Then, there is the Leproso Bridge that, once upon a time, used to join the town with the Via Appia. Today, only a small part of it remains, sufficient however to hint at its ancient magnificence. Beautiful and very much still in use is the town's Roman theatre, wanted by Emperor Adrian in 126 AD and renovated by Caracalla between 200 and 210 AD. It has a diameter of 90 meters, a capacity of 10.000 and its original stage, cavea and part of its three tiered arcades are still visible. Religious architecture is well represented in town by the Santa Sofia church (760 AD), built by the Lombards and considered, in those years, one of the most im- portant spiritual hubs of the Lan- gobardia Minor. Along with other locations around Italy, it is part of the extended Italia Langobardo- rum UNESCO Heritage Site. The Duomo di Benevento is the other main religious building in town, and the earliest embodiment of Christianity still extant; it dates back to the 7th century, although it was enlarged in the 12th century following the Romanic aesthetics, only to be modified again in the 17th century. However, the origi- nal building was mostly destroyed during World War Two and thus rebuilt in the second half of the 20th century. Last but not least, of course, Benevento's own castle, the Rocca dei Rettori. The fortress was built on the highest point of town, in a position known and used already by Samnites and Ro- mans: the latter used it for a luxu- rious spa, the castellum aquae. The Benedictines, in later times, created a monastery on the same place. Food and Folklore As you would expect from any place in Italy, Benevento and its province have some amazing dishes for you to try. Cecatiello is a traditional pasta shape popular in the whole Benevento area; the pizza di alici, typical of Fragneto L'Abate, near Benevento, is a bread dough topped and enriched with salted anchovies, while the scarpella di Castelvenere is a lasagna-like dish, made with pasta (either perciati or mezzi ziti), fresh sausage, a fresh, light cheese called primosale, extra virgin olive oil, grated, mature pecorino, eggs and sugna (traditional lard). Typ- ical produce of the land are a spe- cial Spring mushroom, the virno, the organoleptic characteristics of which are similar to those of truf- fles, and the Falanghina del Taburno grape, a historical white grape varietal typical of the area. Benevento, witches and the drink dedicated to them Last but not least, we cannot write about Benevento without mentioning its witches! Since the Middle Ages, legends say that the town, and the countryside around it, used to be a favored spot for witches and magical creatures. There is, however, a historical rea- son for it: in ancient times, ap- parently, the cult of the Egyptian goddess Isis was particularly widespread, as demonstrated by the large amount of Egyptian-style archaeological finding unhearted in the area. When Christianity took over, Isis became symbol of idolatry, gaining mostly negative characteristics, the same of — you guessed it — witches. In 1860, the Strega Alberti dis- tillery started producing a lemon- yellow liqueur made with more than 70 herbs, including mint and fennel: its name? Liquore Strega, of course, after the many "witches" of Benevento. As it happens for many other famous liqueurs, the full recipe of the Strega is secret. We know saffron is used, and hints of chamomile and cinnamon can be identified, but the entire list of its ingredients remains very much unknown. The Strega is a nice digestivo, which notably made its appearance in Mario Puzo's The Godfather. Its bottle and the particular font of used on it are both iconic sym- bols of the Italian distillery tradi- tion. FRANCESCA BEZZONE Rocca dei Rettori, in Benevento An early poster for Strega liqueur, created by graphic desi- gner Marcello Dudovich) Benevento (Campania, Italy) - Arch known as Arco di Traiano Beneventum-Maleventum: a secret gem of Campania, with a interesting history to boot ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES

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