Ariano Irpino

The Romanesque cathedral preserves a High-Medieval baptismal font, various artistic works and a silver museum, while nearby are the bishop's palace, many other churches, the diocesan museum and the museum dedicated to Giuseppina Arcucci, founder of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit's nuns.

Founded by the Lombards, this castle became very important under the Normans, when it was the head of a powerful county; there did King Roger II stay and there he held the Assizes of Ariano and coined the ducat. Later the castle was remodeled by the Angevins and the Aragonese. All around the castle there is a wide and panoramic public park.

On a cliff overlooking the Irpinian valleys, it used to be a hospital. Thereabouts were many ancient majolica furnaces, and nowadays the building houses a permanent exhibition of majolica art.

Home of the European Centre for Norman Studies, and the Archaeological, Civic & Ceramics Museum. The town has a long, ancient history and is still a center of ceramics manufacturing.

It is a majestic building that in 18th century was converted into a high-school complex. Today it houses the museum of Norman civilization.

Set in an evocative historical setting, it houses weapons and artifacts of all kinds dating back to the Middle Ages in general and to the Norman era in particular.

In addition to numerous prints and period images, the Museum exhibits a wide range of local majolica and ceramics dating back to the 12th century.

Inside it houses a good number of ancient finely worked silver works, although the most precious find is a case containing two Holy Thorns of Christ donated to the city by King Charles of Anjou in the 13th century.