Gesualdo

Gesualdo is the “City of the Prince of Musicians”, of the refined precursor of modern music and important madrigalist, Carlo Gesualdo. A treasure chest of authentic beauty, among the most beautiful and typical villages in the heart of Irpinia, whose Castle dominates the historic center, which winds along characteristic concentric alleys. The village of Gesualdo gathers together most of the places of interest of the Irpinia town, including the Castle and the Pisapia and Mattioli Palaces. It still read more

Gesualdo is the “City of the Prince of Musicians”, of the refined precursor of modern music and important madrigalist, Carlo Gesualdo. A treasure chest of authentic beauty, among the most beautiful and typical villages in the heart of Irpinia, whose Castle dominates the historic center, which winds along characteristic concentric alleys. The village of Gesualdo gathers together most of the places of interest of the Irpinia town, including the Castle and the Pisapia and Mattioli Palaces. It still retains a medieval layout and, from the current conformation of the urban fabric, it is possible to deduce what the social stratification of the population was that, for centuries, surrounded the life of the Castle, namely the workforce, the aristocratic society and the clergy. The entire inhabited center of the town develops, in fact, right around the fortress, to the west of which there are small and narrow houses, attached to each other according to the characteristic canons of feudal architecture. To the south of the Castle, in the historic center of Gesualdo, you can see several stately buildings and to the east squares, fountains, convents and other monumental buildings. Finally, the entire historic center is characterized by suggestive stone alleys that give further lustre and splendor to the historic center of Gesualdo. All the architectural elements just mentioned make Gesualdo a unique town and, for this reason, can be counted among the most important historical-cultural beauties of Irpinia. There are several hypotheses put forward regarding the construction of the Castle of Gesualdo which, according to some, would have taken place in the Lombard era, during the 7th century; for others, it would date back to the 9th century. Some sources, however, document the existence of the Castle in the 12th century, during the Norman domination, and the first lord of the fortress would have been Guglielmo di Altavilla, whose family owned the fiefdom for five centuries. The structure was completely renovated at the end of the sixteenth century, when Carlo Gesualdo made it a Renaissance court, which also included a theater. Over the following centuries, the Castle underwent several modifications and restorations, until, in 1855, it became the property of the Caccese family who created new spaces, also redoing the facade and creating a connection with Piazza Neviera. Since 2000, further restoration work has been carried out (especially because it had been severely damaged by the 1980 earthquake) and, since the end of 2015, it has been reopened to the public. Today, the facade of the Gesualdo Castle recalls the typical architectural styles of the nineteenth century, while the interiors feature elements of Gothic art and Renaissance style. Inside, cultural meetings, concerts and cultural events are hosted, dedicated in particular to the historical and artistic figure of Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613), one of the greatest madrigalists who lived between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Cappellone, also called the "Church of the Holy Sacrament", is a building attributed to Domenico Ludovisi and his son Nicolò, who finished it in 1736. It is also known to the inhabitants of the town as the "Cupolone" and owes its name above all to the upper part, that of the perfectly hemispherical dome. The building is particular because it has a square base, a stone facade, with relief carvings, a cylindrical central part in which there are four aligned windows and an upper part consisting, in fact, of the dome. The latter, in turn, is surmounted by another, smaller dome, which rests on four pillars and is surmounted, in turn, by a cross. Leading towards the entrance of the Cappellone, there is a large staircase of nine steps in travertine made in 1842 by the master stonecutters Pesiri di Gesualdo. Inside, instead, the canvas of the Palio is exhibited, made to celebrate the reconciling meeting between Carlo and Emanuele Gesualdo. read less