Maddaloni (Campania)

Maddaloni is a town in the province of Caserta, Campania. The city is at the base of one of the Tifata hills, the towers of its medieval castle and the Church of San Michele crowning the heights above. The fine old palace of the Caraffa family (once dukes of Maddaloni), the old college now named after Giordano Bruno, and the 'Institute for the sons of soldiers' are the chief points of interest. There are many old and beautiful churches that contain various important works of art. The 15th-century frescoes in the Gothic church of Santa Margherita and the Florentine painter Giovanni Balducci's masterpiece (1560 until after 1644), a series of paintings that decorate the rich wooden ceiling in the church of the Annunziata and were painted in the first five years of the 17th century, are only two examples of a particularly rich artistic heritage that is a reminder of the importance and wealth of the ruling Carafa family at that time. There are also two museums: the Museo Civico and the Museo Archeologico which contains pre-Roman tombs and objects from the ancient city of Calatia.