The lowest point is in the comune ofLimatola (44 meters above sea level), while the highest point isMonte Mutria (1822 meters),[4] one of the mountains of theMatese range, which separates the province of Benevento fromMolise.
The importance ofBenevento in classical times is vouched for by the many remains ofantiquity which it possesses, of which the most famous is thetriumphal arch erected in honour ofTrajan by thesenate and people ofRome in 114, with important reliefs relating to its history. Enclosed in the walls, this construction marked the entrance in Benevento of theVia Traiana, the road built by the Spanish emperor to shorten the path from Rome toBrindisi. The reliefs show the civil and military deeds of Trajan. A great part of the arch is decorated with scenes in bas relief: particularly the pillars directed to the town represent scenes of peace and military scenes. The two faces of the Arch are identical in the arrangement of the reliefs. That the reliefs are for the most part not merely fanciful, nor chiefly conventional and decorative in theme and treatment, is also clear at first sight. They plainly refer to actual events and actions in the life of Trajan, whose effigy, sometimes decapitated, appears in all but two of them, one of which is the only one on all the Arch that is substantially defective.[5] The height of the monument is of 15,60 meter, with an arch of 8 meter, a structure composed of limestone rocks and a marble covering. The arch was put during the Middle Age in the fenced area of the town, in order to represent thePorta Aurea, on account of its fair proportions and the wealth and excellence of its sculptural adornments.[5]
Thechurch of Santa Sofia is a circular Lombard edifice dating to c. 760, now modernized, of small proportions, and is one of the main examples of religiousLombard architecture. The plan consists of a central hexagon with, at each vertex, columns taken from the temple ofIsis; these are connected by arches which support the cupola. The inner hexagon is in turn enclosed in a decagonal ring with eight white limestone pillars and two columns next to the entrance. The church has a finecloister of the 12th century, constructed in part of fragments of earlier buildings.[6] This cloister today is the location of the Museo del Sannio. The church interior was once totally frescoed byByzantine artists: fragments of these paintings, portraying theHistories of Christ, can be still seen in the two side apses. Santa Sofia was almost destroyed by theearthquake of 1688, and rebuilt inBaroque forms by commission of the then cardinal Orsini of Benevento (laterPope Benedict XIII). The original forms were hidden, and were recovered only after the discussed restoration of 1951. In 2011, it became aUNESCO World Heritage Site as part of a group of seven inscribed asLongobards in Italy, Places of Power (568-774 A.D.).
TheBenevento Cathedral, with its arcaded façade and incomplete squarecampanile (begun in 1279 by the archbishop Romano Capodiferro) dates from the 9th century.[6] It was rebuilt in 1114, the façade inspired by the Pisan Gothic style. Its bronze doors, adorned withbas-reliefs, are notable example ofRomanesque art which may belong to the beginning of the 13th century. The interior is in the form of abasilica, the double aisles carried on ancient columns. There are ambones resting on columns supported by lions, and decorated with reliefs and coloured marble mosaic, and a candelabrum of 1311.[6] A marble statue of the apostle San Bartolomeo, by Nicola da Monteforte, is also from the 14th century. The cathedral also contains a statue of St.Giuseppe Moscati, a native of the area. The cathedral was completely destroyed in 1943 because of bombardments: what remained of the cathedral were just the bell tower, the façade and the crypt. Another testimony of the cathedral is the 12th-century bronze door, the Janua Major, composed of 72 tiles with bas relief, whose fragments were rebuilt after the Second World War.The current monument, with its modern aspect, was completed in 1965 and restored between 2005 and 2012.
Cathedral (Duomo), founded in the 10th century, dedicated to theAssumption of Mary. Due to the repeated reconstruction, little remains of the original edifice. The Romanesquecrypt shows parts which could belong to several pre-existing buildings, including Roman or earlier ones.
^abTruesdell Merrill, Elmer (1901). "Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association - Some Observations on the Arch of Trajan at Beneventum".The Johns Hopkins University Press.32:43–63.
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