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Six theme trips To know Campania
“The trip down memory lane”
Christmas in Campania, a special trip back in time, rich in events and curiosities to satisfy the needs of all tourists. Naples, a city of art with extraordinary museums and monuments, offers Christmas one of its most fascinating faces. The streets of the old town enlightened by artists, the ancient “decumani” (East-West roads in Roman towns) to be discovered with the visits to the old necropolis and the nether town, the walks along the shepherds’ paths with the many workshops. And a few kilometres away, the charm of Pompei and Ercolano, the overshadowing Royal Palace of Caserta, Vanvitelli’s masterpiece, the many villages of the Sannio and Irpinia, lands of gastronomic excellences and architectural riches. The great exhibitions enriching the cultural offer are four. At the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, the enormous bronze statues from Ercolano, set up in the recently renovated hall, are the protagonists of “Ercolano. Three centuries of discoveries”. An icon of modernity, instead, for the event dedicated to contemporary art at Capodimonte Museum: the exhibition dedicated to Louise Bourgeois who, after the great exhibitions in London and New York, brings sixty works to Naples, among which two extraordinary unpublished works of the Cells series.
The great Maman (1999) will welcome the visitors with its incredible height of more than nine metres, while Crouching Spider (2003) will be in the middle of the Sala degli Arazzi d’Avalos. Paintings, manufactured products and furnishings from the Borbonic collection, in the historical apartments of the Royal Palace of Caserta. A great exhibition of small rarities never shown before, a unique opportunity to visit the greatest and majestic Borbonic Royal Palace in Italy and the Cappella Palatina, which will host the famous exhibition “Sacred furnishings of the Cappella di Palazzo”. The “singing city”, is the title of the greatest exhibition about music ever set up in Naples, opening in Sister Orsola Benincasa’s complex. Ancient instruments, rare scores from the Music Archive of the Congregation of Naples Oratory and the Conservatory in San Pietro a Majella, records from the Real Cappella del Tesoro di San Gennaro and from the Diocesan Historical Archive, as well as paintings belonging to the great collections of Capodimonte and the main art galleries. A sumptuous and refined exhibition aiming at telling the story of one of the most important musical and artistic heritages in the world.
For music lovers, the programme is among the most interesting of the season. During three unmissable nights Master Roberto De Simone will conduct the Nuova Orchestra Scarlatti in “Lo Vommaro”, a work mixing Starace’s comedy, the musical parody “The comic duel” by Paisiello and Stravinskij’s “The wedding”, re-edited in the Neapolitan dialect of 1600. The events are set for December 8 in Caserta, December 26 in Naples and January 5 2009 in Avellino. In cooperation with the Music Centre Antica Pietà dei Turchini, twenty-four concerts of baroque and sacred music will be held and orchestrated by important companies from the Italian and international musical scene. They will be hosted in the most beautiful churches and the most striking places in Naples; some concerts will be combined with a theme dinner inspired to the music and the composers in the programme, others will be enriched with typical Christmas gastronomy and tastings. During the Christmas holidays the corps de ballet of the Teatro di San Carlo, the most ancient theatre operating in Europe, offers five unmissable nights hosted by the Teatro Politeama with the performance of “Naples” (act III) by Auguste Bournonville, “Death and the young girl” by Franz Schubert and the Bolero by Maurice Ravel. During the holiday’s weekends the tradition of Café Chantant lives again at the Teatro Sannazaro, a few steps away from the shopping streets, in the elegant downtown. Three shows/aperitif every week. Guaranteed fun for a happening going back over the belle époque, with wine tasting, regional products and Christmas sweets.
The good cookery lovers know that Campania is a land of ancient cooking traditions using genuine products, exported all over the world. In order to discover the ancient flavours, the “macaronic” critic Antonio Fiore, famous journalist from Campania , has selected twenty-five restaurants in the region. The chefs committed themselves to present a menu from the local tradition, obviously sold with special offers. The cards for each restaurant, with the detailed menus, the recipes with the “stories” of the main products and the indication of nearby tourist places, will be collected in a free well illustrated guide handed out to tourists. In particular, each restaurant will be “twinned” to a monument, building, church, architectural complex, a nearby village to be easily visited by the tourist before or after stopping at the restaurant. On New Year’s Eve a great concert will bring to life the wonderful piazza del Plebiscito and at midnight fireworks will enlighten the city and the coast, giving the tourists the souvenir of a magical and unforgettable night.
