Alife (CE)

Infobox CityIT
img_coa = Alife-Stemma.gif
official_name = Comune di Alife
region = Campania
province = Caserta (CE)
elevation_m = 110
area_total_km2 = 63
name=Alife
mapx=41.39|mapy=14.344
population_as_of = June 30, 2006
population_total =7362
population_density_km2 = 112
timezone = CET, UTC+1
coordinates = coord|41|20|N|14|20|E|display=inline,title
frazioni = San Michele, Totari
telephone = 0823
postalcode = 81011
gentilic = Alifani
saint = St. Pope Sixtus I
day = August 11
mayor = Roberto Vitelli
website =

Alife is a town and commune in the province of Caserta (Campania), Italy. It is located in the Volturno valley, and is a flourishing center of agricultural production.

History

The name of Alife has Samnite origin, although a settlement in the hills around the city existed probably since the Iron Age. After the First Punic War, it became a Roman "municipium", with the name of "Alliphae".

A bishopric was present in Alife in the 5th century AD, but in the following century it disappeared. The city was a Lombard possession, as part of the Duchy of Benevento and, later, of the Principality of Capua. The bishop was reinstated in 969, four years after the city became an independent county. In 1132, the Norman Count Ranulf (one of the most outstanding military leaders of medieval Italy) began the construction of the cathedral. At this time, Alife, together with other centers of northern Campania, was almost independent from Capua, and began governing itself. This, of course, caused increasing strife with the central power of the Norman Kingdom of Sicily (created by Roger II in 1130). In 1135, the city was occupied by Sicilian troops; but, two years later, Count Ranulf had his vengeance, obtaining the title of Duke.

However, in 1138, the city was again captured, largely destroyed and occupied by a Sicilian contingent. In 1169, the counts obtained again autonomy; in 1178, the city was handed over to Richard Caetani of Fondi. The Quarrel family returned in 1191, after the descent of Emperor Henry VI, but was ousted forever in 1197, and the city assigned to the German family of Schweisspeunt. Alife was subsequently ruled by several baronal families of the Kingdom of Naples, who did little to improve its conditions. The neighbouring area became increasingly marshy, and the city decayed, being almost wholly abandoned after the 13th century. Many of the citizens took refuge in the surrounding hills.

In 1561, the Spanish king Philip II had the city destroyed to punish its seignor, Ferrante II Diaz Garlon, who had had a part in the assassination of the king's sister. The cathedral edifice crumbled down in the 1688 earthquake. Alife started to recover only after the abolition of feudalism in 1806; in 1861 it became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy.

Main sights

Alife's main attractions include:
*The Roman amphiteater, still partially covered by earth: with dimensions of 48 m x 38 m, it was the fourth largest in Italy after those of Rome, Pompeii and Capua.
*The Mausoleum of Acilii Glabriones, outside the city walls. Other Roman tombs, including a great Tower (the so-called "Torrione") can be seen on State Route SS.158. One has been turned into the church of "Madonna delle Grazie".
*The Roman "Cryptoporticum", a well-preserved gallery more than 100 meters in length.
*The Castle, which likely existed before Lombard times, though the first records of it date from 1127.
*The Cathedral (1132). After the heavy earthquakes of 1456 and 1688, it was largely rebuilt in Baroque style and reopened in 1692. The interior has maintained noteworthy elements of the Lombard-Norman edifice, including two arcades decorated with sculptures of animals (including the elephant, heraldic symbol of the city established by the d'Aquino family, who ruled Alife from 1121 to 1269) and saints. Also interesting is the Romanesque crypt, which houses the relics of Pope Sixtus I, brought here by Rainulf III: it has a rectangular plan and columns from the ancient Roman theater. Some of the capitals are ancient, while others are mediaeval copies of the Roman originals.

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