Chiesa dell'Annunziata

Beside the cathedral in Casertavecchia, the Church of the Annunziata is a smaller Gothic counterpoint to the great Romanesque complex. Its eighteenth-century portico frames a church linked to the village's former hospital and charitable life.

Why it matters

The municipality dates the church to the thirteenth century and places it directly against the cathedral's right flank. Its portico, added in the eighteenth century, gives the entrance a sheltered relationship with the square. Unlike the bishop's cathedral, the Annunziata was associated with social and charitable functions, including a hospital beside it.

What to notice

The portico's stone portal bears a marble coat of arms. The façade has a rose window and pointed arch above the entrance, with a later carved stone portal. Inside, the single nave is lit by tall windows, and an arch with surviving religious paintings is among the building's notable features. On the adjacent former hospital, a niche preserves faint remains of a fresco of the Annunciation. A small bell tower with single-light openings and a pyramidal cusp completes the group.

Context and history

The church took shape in the thirteenth century and served the community's welfare needs alongside the hospital. Its portico reflects a later period of patronage in Casertavecchia. After the episcopal seat moved to the new city in 1842, the hill village contracted and the church lost its active role. It is now deconsecrated and forms part of the historic fabric of the borgo.