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City Gate of Capua

1230s establishments in Europe1557 disestablishments in EuropeCapuaCity gatesFormer gates
Frederick II, Holy Roman EmperorGates in Italy
Ponte di Capua
Ponte di Capua

The City Gate of Capua (Italian: Porta di Capua or Porta delle due Torri, 'Gate of the Two Towers') was a monumental fortified gate constructed between 1234 and 1239 at Capua on the orders of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.Medieval Capua was built on the site of ancient Casilinum (while ancient Capua is today Santa Maria Capua Vetere). A Roman bridge known as the Ponte Casilino crossed the Volturno from the north. Frederick II had a new gate built on the north side of the Volturno before the bridge. The gate was built to greet travellers coming from the Papal States. The gateway itself was a Romanesque arch in a façade between two large towers. The façade was programmatically decorated with sculptures to glorify the emperor, including one of Frederick himself. The gate was destroyed in 1557 on the orders of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, the viceroy of Naples. Much of the sculpture is preserved today in the Museo Campano, but the sculpture of Frederick was severely damaged when French troops marched south to support the Parthenopean Republic in 1799. The head is now in the Bode Museum in Berlin, and most of the body in the Museo Campano.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article City Gate of Capua (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

City Gate of Capua
Via Ponte Romano,

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N 41.10988 ° E 14.20852 °
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Via Ponte Romano
81043
Campania, Italy
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Ponte di Capua
Ponte di Capua
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Casilinum

Casilinum (Ancient Greek: Κασιλῖνον) was an ancient city of Campania, Italy, situated some 3 miles north-west of the ancient Capua. The position of Casilinum at the junction of the Via Appia and Via Latina, at their crossing of the river Volturnus by a still-existing three-arched bridge, gave the town considerable strategic importance during the Roman Republic.Casilinum was located where the modern city of Capua now stands, while the ancient Capua was located on the site of the modern Santa Maria Capua Vetere. While the original pre-Roman town, doubtless dependent on neighboring Capua, stood entirely on the left (south) bank surrounded on three sides by the river, the Roman city extended to the right bank also. Remains of this later town have been found at some 25 feet below the modern ground-level, the river-bed having since risen considerably.During the Second Punic War, Casilinum was first occupied by Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus in 217 BCE. The town was taken by Hannibal after a gallant defence by troops from Praeneste and Perusia in the winter of 216-215 BCE, but recaptured by Roman forces the following year, thereafter serving the Romans as a base of operations against rebellious Capua.Casilinum eventually lost its independence and became a praefectura. Caesar founded a colony at the town in 59 BCE, which was subsequently renewed by Mark Antony in 44 BCE. The veterans settled within the town took the side of Octavian after Caesar's death.Casilinum appears to have been united with Capua sometime before the reign of Vespasian—the name of the town does not appear in the list of independent communities given by Pliny, who rather (Hist. Nat. iii.70) says that it was fallen into decay (morientis Casilini reliquiae). Only its position at the junction of major roads appears to have redeemed it from insignificance. The period of its final decline or destruction is uncertain but in the 9th century no town was on the spot.

Battle of Capua (1348)
Battle of Capua (1348)

The Battle of Capua was fought between 11–15 January 1348 between the troops of Louis I of Hungary and those of the Kingdom of Naples, in the course of the former's invasion of Naples. The Neapolitan troops, led by Queen Joan's second husband Louis of Taranto, were in the fortified town of Capua. Most of King Louis 's troops were Italian and German mercenaries and English longbowmen, considered unreliable; his more loyal Hungarian knights were unsuitable for the siege of fortresses. Therefore, King Louis avoided Capua and headed for Benevento with his troops. To cover this manoeuvre he ordered Niccolò Gaetano, Count of Fondi, to attack the bridgehead of river Volturno with the Hungarian and German cavalry and Lombard infantry. Count Gaetano did not make a frontal attack against the bridgehead: he sent part of his force along the river Volturno, towards Orticella, where they crossed the river and launched a surprise attack on the right wing and rear of the Neapolitan army. The attacking troops consisted mainly of cavalry and some infantry. Around 3 PM the Hungarian light cavalry got tired of the initial skirmishes which had ensued, and released a devastating flight of arrows on the Neapolitan cavalry; most of the latter lost their horses and had to fight on foot. Louis of Taranto ordered a countermarch but these turned suddenly in rout. A smaller part of the Neapolitan army fled toward Teano, followed by Gaetano's cavalry. Most of them were killed or captured. The larger part of the Neapolitan army retreated in poor conditions to Naples under Louis of Taranto. After the collapse the Neapolitan mercenaries started to escape from Capua, forcing the commander of Capua to capitulate. Some days later Queen Joan sailed to Provence, followed by her husband; subsequently the Kingdom of Naples fell to King Louis.