Art in Campania starts from protohistory and tells us a centuries-long history.
The pottery, the worked bronzes and the silica objects found in the 6th century Campania necropolis, together with the terracotta, prove the vitality of the ancient art of Campania, in which, even if the Hellenic influence predominates, Etruscan, Samnite and osci elements are founded. The Romans, on the other hand, gave birth to works of public utility but which in fact today are works of art. But also, beautiful villas, theaters, bridges, fortifications, city walls, all that the city needed to grow and prosper. We also have countless testimonies of the Roman period, entire cities such as Pompeii and Herculaneum. Byzantine art, which spread throughout the Christian world, could not fail to reach our region. While the arrival of the Swabians marked the resumption of classicism. Painting opens the doors to the fourteenth-century one and sculpture is renewed with the Gothic influence, which despite the resistance from Italian architects, developed and materialized in a modified, more traditional Gothic style. The Angevins wanted the greatest architects of France and Tuscany in Campania. I belong to this period Santa Chiara, San Lorenzo Maggiore in Naples, the Certosa and the Castle of Sant’Elmo. Until in the fifteenth century, the Renaissance also reached Naples, under the Aragonese, which restored vivacity and freshness to artistic works. Subsequently, architecture, painting and sculpture evolve into the Baroque. In this century, Cosimo Fanzango dominated in Campania, a multifaceted artist who painted, drew and sculpted famous balustrades, altars, columns of the most famous Neapolitan churches and palaces. In your Neapolitan walks you will hear him mentioned many times. The baroque, which dominates the beginning of the eighteenth century, is transformed into that roccocò rich in decorations. The Fuga and the Vanvitelli reached the neo-classicism in which the Baroque is still present, visible in the staircase of the Royal Palace of Caserta.
In the eighteenth century in Naples there was the flourishing of a new art, that of figurines, who gave life to the Neapolitan crib.
Welcome to Campania!
PAESTUM
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Depending on the four seasons, the brightness of the sky colors with its reflections the undisputed protagonists of this magical place: the temples of Paestum.
Inside the walls (4750 meters long) they triumph intact, from the 6th century BC. C., the magnificent Doric temples: the Basilica dedicated to Hera, the temple of Neptune and the temple of Ceres dedicated to Athena. Of inestimable historical and artistic value, preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Paestum, is the Tomb of the Diver, the only example of Greek age painting of Magna Graecia. Later the Romans built grandiose buildings there, such as the Baths, the portico of the Forum, the Temple of Peace and the small amphitheater, a meeting place for citizens.
Today, living Paestum means immersing yourself in the heart of Greco-Roman history, breathing the spirit of the past, enjoying the beauty of a timeless heritage.
Discover the most beautiful city of Magna Graecia through the story of one of our authorized guides, they will take you back 2500 years, making you experience the charm that still remains intact today.
POMPEII
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Pompeii is one of those places that can be visited countless times, not only because it is the most evocative of the peninsula, but above all because it is a continuous and surprising discovery. An entire city blocked in 79 by the eruption of Vesuvius, the streets, the houses, the villas, fascinating frescoes, casts of people, human and animal remains, still speak to us today of what life was like in Roman times, a sad but great historical legacy.
At the excavations of Pompeii, you cannot just walk, you have to rely on expert guides who will transport you back in time to relive the past. The expanse of ruins is so rich that it would be a real shame not to live the experience to the full.
NAPLES
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Naples is a city full of charm. Naples is an art book.
The oldest inhabited center was built on Mount Erchia, where today is located Pizzofalcone. The Greek colonizers in the 7th century BC C. founded on these heights Partenope, the first nucleus of the future Naples.
Today Naples is the treasure of an artistic story that goes from the Greek-Roman age to the Byzantine one, with rare evidence also of the Norman-Swabian age, Neapolitan art develops with the Angevins, the Renaissance leaves a great legacy, the seventeenth century, the Baroque and the Roccocò.
Known for its folklore, traditions and craftsmanship.
Religious feasts survive, where much importance is given to the feast of the patron saint San Gennaro, on the first Saturday of May and on 19 September the miracle of the liquefaction of the blood takes place. Crafts, linked to Christmas, in 700 was a true artistic genre, today the tradition can be seen along the streets of San Gregorio Armeno. But Naples is also famous for bespoke tailoring, among the streets we will find many shops.
So you agree that a single day is not enough to experience Naples
THE ROYAL PALACE OF CASERTA
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The Royal Palace of Caserta is one of the most impressive buildings in Italy. It was King Charles of Bourbon who wanted to create a palace that emulated the palaces and gardens of the French Versailles. It took 12 years, from the laying of the first stone, to finish the structure of the building. 1200 rooms, 1750 windows. Yet it is the Park, proclaimed in 2010 one of the most beautiful historical gardens in Italy, which strikes the most, with its scenographic effect and the succession of pools, waterfalls, sculptural groups and wonderful fountains for more than 3 kilometers.
THE CHARTERHOUSE OF SAN LORENZO IN PADULA
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The Certosa di San Lorenzo is among the largest monasteries in the world, Unesco protection since 1998.
Built on the basis of a previous building, La Gracia di San Lorenzo of the Montevergine abbey, which belonged to the Basilian monks, later donated to the Carthusians. Over the course of the decade it was suppressed several times until during the world wars it was used as a prison camp.
The restoration works started in 1982, lasted 20 years, and restored the splendid forms of the Baroque renewal. The large cloister is spectacular, one of the largest in the world.
With all these records, the Charterhouse cannot fail to surprise you.