Caserta Vecchia and San Leucio

Casertavecchia is the perfect escape from the chaos of the city. Coming here means strolling through quiet alleyways where flowers seem to bloom amongst the stones of the buildings and the only sound is cats’ meowing in the background. This ancient hamlet is actually the original centre of Caserta, which only began expanding in the 18th century around the Reggia, or Royal Palace, built by Vanvitelli. A cluster of tiny houses that for centuries have remained standing under Mount Virgo, a tangle of flagstone streets, a cylindrical fortified tower rising over the village and breathtaking views of the newer Caserta. Just a few souls still live in this medieval hamlet imbued with charm and mystery, while it was once inhabited by fairies and sprites, some of whom are still around. Indeed, the village may be small but it was not built in a day, and not just by people.

The story goes that the strong fairies from the Tifatini mountains arrived here in the High Middle Ages, carrying on their backs heavy columns to be delivered to those who would build the cathedral of Casertavecchia. A true gem completed in the 12th century, its architectural elements are a blend of the Romanic-Apulian, Arab-Sicilian and Benedictine styles. The fairy columns are still there, dividing the church into three naves.

The ancient charm and fairy-tale aura enveloping the village even enchanted Ursula Pannwitz, a German artist who decided to settle in Casertavecchia in the 1970s, animating its cultural life for years with the transformation of a small, deconsecrated church into an artists’ workshop and place of culture. In the Casa delle Bifore, Ursula began creating her “spiritelli”, or sprites: small terracotta vases decorated with funny faces and home to the tiny spirits who protect our houses and wander through the hamlet’s alleyways at night. Before Ursula Pannwitz, English author Frances Fleetwood lived in Casertavecchia for a while – in part due to her amor fou for General Nobile, in part for the undeniable charm of the place, about which she wrote a novel and a historic guide.