The castle of Gioia Sannitica

Gioia Sannitica - Gioia Sannitica is a town of 3429 inhabitants in the province of Caserta in Campania, characterized by the subdivision into several scattered villages. The town is located on the border between the provinces of Benevento and Caserta. The castle of Gioia Sannitica is an architecture of Norman origin of which only conspicuous remains remain today on an isolated hill in the Caselle district.

The archaeological area, which is accessed after passing through an ancient portal, is divided into the real castle dominated on the left by a cylindrical tower and by the village that extends to the right of the castle. To visit the remains of the castle you have to take a narrow path bordered on the left by the limestone walls and on the right by a steep and deep cliff. The castle developed on several levels, as evidenced by the remains of the stairways and the traces of an upper chimney. To the east are the remains of some buildings, perhaps homes or warehouses. The castle and its ruins over the centuries have provided the ideal setting for legends such as that of Count Ugo Villalumo, feudal lord of the castle and his wife. In fact, it is said that the count on a full moon night went to the highest tower where he saw his wife sprinkle her body with an ointment and take flight to Benevento, Ugo mad with jealousy thinking that his wife was cheating on him replaced the ointment with a common sponge, unaware of the fact that the woman was going to Benevento for the witches' sabbath. The woman after the new full moon smeared the fake ointment on her body and when I tried to get the colo out she fell from the tower crashing into a chilling scream. The site can be visited every weekend.