Every design for Benevento

Benevento is known for its layers of history: Samnite Maleventum, Roman Beneventum on the Appian Way, then the capital of a Lombard duchy that held much of southern Italy. Today it is a provincial capital in Campania, set on a hill where the Sabato meets the Calore.

What makes it unusual is how casually the past sits in daily life. The Arco di Traiano, one of the best-preserved Roman arches anywhere, stands at the end of an ordinary street. The Chiesa di Santa Sofia and its cloister belong to a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the Museo del Sannio right next door. The Rocca dei Rettori overlooks the old centre, and the Teatro Romano recalls the Roman city. On the western skyline, the peaks of the Taburno Camposauro trace the shape of a sleeping woman, the Dormiente del Sannio.

If you grew up here, you know the walk from the arch to the cathedral, where Saint Bartholomew's relics are kept, by heart: this map is your city, wherever you wear it.