Palazzo Caravita di Sirignano

Caravita Palace, also called "Palace of the Prince", is a place of historical interest located in Sirignano, near the Church of Sant'Andrea Apostolo (Saint Andrew the Apostle).

The first historical documentation of this stately building dates back to 1754 and derives from the catasto onciario (ounce-based cadastre), from which it results that it had probably been built in the Norman era and that it belonged to the baron of that time, Vincenzo Caracciolo della Gioiosa. After the abolition of feudalism, the municipal goods, therefore also the Palace, where bought by Giuseppe Caravita, prince of Sirignano in 1884. In fact the Palace's name derives from him, and he restored it giving it back the neo-Gothic style that still distinguishes it today.

The imposing palace dominates the east side of Piazza Principessa Rosa, named in honour of Prince Caravita's wife. From its façade, characterized by a rigorous beauty without excesses, three stylized and crenelated towers stand out, located on both sides and in the centre of the building. The two side towers are characterized by buttresses on escarpments, while the central one is characterized by the main door. The tendentiously medieval aspect is given by the presence of machicolations, corbels and Guelph battlements. The structure has an irregular plan, characterized by a central body, at the sides of which, at right angles, there are two rear asymmetrical wings. At the entrance, the visitor accesses a sumptuous atrium, from which a marble staircase leads to the upper noble floor, overlooking the square. To the east there are the courtyard and the park, where the typical camellias of the "Prince's Garden" flourished and that the people of Sirignano know well.

Even today, the Caravita Palace introduces to an atmosphere reminiscent of the elite clutch of the Neapolitan aristocracy, that Prince Giuseppe himself had given it: the rooms that once housed painters, musicians and writers, today welcome visits, conferences and cultural events.