santa maria capua verete and capua
 
Regular buses run from Caserta, either from the bus/train station or the stop just to the left as you exit the palace, for the 6km to SANTA MARIA CÁPUA VETERE - a not especially pleasant journey past jutting signs, petrol stations and run-down housing. There's not a blade of grass in sight, and the feeling is one of grinding, hapless, urban poverty. There's not much to Santa Maria itself either, but in its day this originally Etruscan, later Samnite, city, then known as Cápua, was the second city of Italy, centre of the rich and important region of Campania and famous for its skill in working bronze. Its first-century-AD amphitheatre was once the largest in Italy after the Colosseum, and parts of it remain on the far side of town, a right turn shortly after Piazza San Francesco d'Assisi. In its day this held a reputed Roman gladiator school and barracks, and it was here that the gladiators' revolt, led by Spartacus, broke out in 73 BC - a revolt that was only put down after two years and four lost battles. The amphitheatre now is less well preserved than the Colosseum (though better than Pozzuoli's), having lost most of the surrounding tiers - and many of the remaining ones have been concreted over. But the network of tunnels underneath survives reasonably intact, and is accessible. You can also ask for the keys to a nearby Mithraeum across the road, down Via Antifeatro and then left down Via Morelli - one of the best preserved in the country and redolent with the bizarre, bloodletting rites that accompanied the cult of Mithraism.

There are heaps of rubble and a handful of artefacts dotted around the amphitheatre, not least a large piece of mosaic, but most of the finds have found their way to the Museo Provinciale Campano in CÁPUA , 4km down the road (Tues-Sat 9am-1.30pm, Sun 9am-1pm; L8000/¬4.13) - a smaller town than Santa Maria, settled by refugees when the original city was plundered in 856 by Saracens. Sited on the broad curve of the Volturno River, it's a marginally more attractive place than Santa Maria, but it's not really worth the trek (or even bus ride) if you're without a car.

If you do make it as far as Cápua, it may be worth pushing on to nearby SANT'ANGELO IN FORMIS (there are regular buses from Cápua), where there's an ancient church built on the site of a temple to Diana that is now open again after years of restoration. Dating back to the tenth century, its most striking features are its entrance arches, whose pointed style suggests a strong Arab-Norman influence, and the vivid thirteenth-century frescoes inside, which depict various scenes in the life of St Paul. The church, reachable through a bombastic arch from 1860 that commemorates Garibaldi's victory over the Bourbons here, also has stirring views of the plain of Volturno, where he won his battle.

The area northwest of Cápua, the Terra di Lavoro , is a flat, fertile plain that's one of Campania's prime agricultural regions, yielding a healthy array of fruit and supporting plentiful herds of mozzarella-producing buffalo. The main town, SESSA AURUNCA , has a pleasant centre of narrow arched streets and a Romanesque cathedral that has a pulpit similar to those at Salerno and Ravello. To the northeast of Campania is the peaceful Parco Regionale del Matese , good for quiet walks and cycle rides. The hospitable but rather pricey Villa de Pertis in the village of Dragoni , 5km outside the park boundary, offers rooms and a large self-catering apartment in an old country house (tel 0823.866.619; L200,000-250,000/¬103.29-129.11). But otherwise there's not a lot to persuade travellers to stop, and most push straight on to Formia or Rome.