Benevento

Benevento stands at the meeting of the Calore and Sabato rivers, on the inland routes linking Campania with Apulia. Its Roman arch of Trajan and the Lombard church of Santa Sofia recall the city's long history as a centre of southern Italy. For centuries it belonged to the Papal States, an enclave surrounded by the Kingdom of Naples.

Earthquakes in 1688 and 1702 severely damaged Benevento. Churches rebuilt after the first shock suffered again, while the cathedral and episcopal palace were badly damaged in 1702. In 1806 Napoleon made Benevento a principality for his minister Talleyrand; papal rule returned after the fall of the French Empire.