B&B Stabia Planet

Castellammare di Stabia


Castellammare di Stabia is located in the southern part of the metropolitan city of Naples, in the territory between the end of the Vesuvian zone and the beginning of the Sorrento peninsula. For its particular geographical position, it therefore offers climatic conditions that favour the mild and temperate climate, typical of marine and hilly areas. In the warmer months  the average temperature is 25 °C, while in the colder ones 16 °C

The eruption of '79

On August 25, 79 A.D. an unexpected and violent eruption of Vesuvius caused the city of Stabiae disappear under a thick brush of ash, lapilli and pumice, along with Pompeii and Herculaneum. Due to the frequent earthquakes that had preceded the eruption, many villas showed signs of failure or cracks and therefore were undergoing renovation: This was the reason why in Stabiae there was a limited number of victims Among the illustrious victims was also Pliny the Elder, who arrived in Stabiae to observe the eruption more closely, died most likely poisoned by toxic gases on the beach





The Duomo


The main church is the Concathedral of Santissima Maria Assunta and San Catello, whose construction works date back to 1587, while the solemn consecration took place only in 1893, although already used since 1643.
Basilica in the shape of a Latin cross, it is divided into three naves, one central and two sideways on which five chapels open, including the one dedicated to the stabiese patron San Catello; It was precisely during the construction of this chapel, in 1875, that archeological finds and structures attributable to necropolis, streets, houses and shops dating back to Roman times were found.
Among the main works preserved within it is the Deposition and the Nativity of the Spaniletto, an early Christian sarcophagus, used as an altar in the chapel of San Catello, a statue of San Michele archangel, from mediaeval times and previously housed in the sanctuary of San Michele al Faito, As well as paintings by Domenico Morelli, Francesco De Nicola, Angelo Mozzillo, Giacinto Diano, Giuseppe Bonito, Nunzio Rossi and Vincenzo Paliotti. 

The Palace and the Museum

The precise date of the construction of the Reggia di Quisisana is still shrouded in mystery: surely in 1268 the house of King Charles I of Anjou already existed on the hill of Quisisana, but since the Angevins had conquered the Kingdom of Naples only two years before it is conceivable that it can go back to the Svevi. 

In a dominant position over the city, the palace consists of three buildings: the first, on two levels, is the one that allows access to the structure through a large portal. The first floor was the main floor that directly overlooked the park. The second body is located perpendicular to the entrance, on the hillside, also on two levels with the addition of the attic. Finally, the third part descends along the slope of the hill and is characterised by the presence of a porch. Inside the palace there is an Italian garden.

Throughout its history numerous personalities inhabited the palace from Joseph Bonaparte to Joachim Murat to the Bourbons: Carolina Bonaparte, Napoleon's sister, also stayed there for a long time. With the unification of Italy, the estate passed among the Reserved Assets of the Crown of the House of Savoy, then transferred to the state property. In 1879 it was purchased by the municipality and given in concession the same year to private individuals who transformed it into a hotel, called Royal Hotel Quisisana. At the end of the sixties, after it was used as a hospital for a very short time, the palace was abandoned. 

Serious damage was added to those caused by neglect and water infiltration, following the 1980 Irpinia Earthquake, causing the partial collapse of some walls, floors and stairs: meanwhile, ornaments and stucco must be completely lost. Reduced to a state of ruin, after a thorough series of studies begin the restoration work ending in 2008. The palace is partly used for the restoration school, partly used as a museum for the exhibition of artefacts from the excavations of Stabiae.



Archaeology

Today's Castellammare di Stabia, was one of the favourite destinations of the Roman patricians, so much so that its territory was dotted with numerous residential villas. Discovered in 1749 by the Bourbon diggers, Stabiae, from the beginning, distinguished itself as a place of excellence: However, the exploration of the city lasted only a few years, so much so that already in 1782 all the excavation activities were moved to Pompeii, so that villas, houses and streets returned underground while frescos, statues and precious furnishings were collected in the Bourbon Museum.

After the abandonment, in 1800, there were various inventions that kept the memory of Stabiae burning: however, it was only in 1950 that two villas, Villa San Marco and Villa Arianna, were partially brought to light by the principal Libero D'Orsi. The two villas can be visited every day and you can appreciate the design skills of the Roman architects who realised them with bold technical solutions and perfectly inserting the villas into the landscape. 

Today the Stabiae site is at the centre of a major international project that involves the creation of an archeological park together with the University of Maryland, through the Restoring Ancient Stabiae Foundation: One of the fundamental steps of the foundation, together with the Archeological Superintendence of Pompeii, was an exhibition, called Otium Ludens, from December 2007 to March 2008, at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, which collected about 200 finds including furnishings and frescos from Stabiae. This exhibition will continue in other parts of the world in the future.

The Grotta di San Biagio is an ancient Christian temple, carved out of tuff rock on the slopes of the Varano hill: most likely originally it was a quarry created by the ancient Romans to build their villas through the extraction of tuff blocks. In the beginning there was a Roman temple dedicated to Mithras, while in the first centuries of Christianity it became a catacomb. It was only from the sixth century that it became a church, dedicated to Saints Giasone and Mauro, seat of a Benedictine community, dependent on the monastery of San Renato di Sorrento. Inside there are frescos of considerable proportions, beautifully preserved, executed between the sixth and fourteenth centuries: the cave is closed to the public. Inside was found a statue depicting perhaps San Biagio that today is preserved in the Diocesan Museum of Castellammare di Stabia.


The monuments

The Cassharmonic

The cassarmonica, or musical pavilion, was built by the company Minieri di Napoli, on a project by the architect Eugenio Cosenza. Inaugurated on April 28, 1900, only 9 years later, due to a violent lycled, the boxharmonic collapsed. For its reconstruction was called for the umpteenth time Eugenio Cosenza, who this time lowered its height, created a vent at the top while the arches took on an arabesque shape: the new structure was delivered to the municipality of Castellammare di Stabia on August 4, 1911. Over the years it has undergone several restorations both in the nineties and in 2004. The cassarmonica hosts various concerts as well A.ST.A.R. events.

War Memorial Monuments

Realised by the sculptor Giuseppe Renda: everything was ready for the inauguration, on October 28, 1928 when the bishop of the time refused to participate because images of naked men appeared on the monument. The monument remained covered for about three years as both the bishop and the sculptor (who did not want to modify his work) refused to find a meeting point. The situation changed only when the president of the Catholic action convinced Giuseppe Renda to modify the sculptures: the monument was finally inaugurated in 1931, in the presence of all the authorities. The opera represents the Winged Victory. Every April 25, a solemn ceremony is held at the foot of the statue to commemorate the liberation of Italy.

 The rock of Rovigliano

Formed by limestone rock and covered with eruptive deposits due to the proximity of Vesuvius, the Rovigliano rock is located in the sea, right in front of the mouth of the Sarno river, on the border between Castellammare and Torre Annunziata. The name Rovigliano derives from the surname of a Roman family, the Rubellia, who built a villa d'otium there, a typical construction of the area. Before the advent of the Romans the rock is thought to have been Phoenician emporium or temple dedicated to Hercules, in fact then it was called Petra Herculis. In 938 AD a convent was built there, while in 1564, it was transformed into a fortress against the incursions of Turkish pirates.