The Tower of the Paladin

by Raimonda Rossi

Once I was in Sinuessa, the Via Appia turns right to avoid the marshes and became the foothills and right towards Capua. Like every other consular road, there were numerous funeral monuments along the way. In the section between Mondragone and Falciano (GPS: 41 07'48''N, 13.56'15''E) it is possible to enjoy the Torre del Paladino (Tower of the Paladin) which is incorporated in a private property in via San Paolo, in the locality of Ciaurro in Falciano del Massico (CE).

The tower, also called "Torre del ballarino", is a turreted mausoleum which dates back to the first century BC.

it comes as an 8 meters high and 6 meters wide parallelepipedon which is characterized by a nucleus in Roman concrete (opera caementicum in Latin) and limestone blocks that should once have been covered. The entrance faces Monte Massico and it’s located in the north of the building; heading south, however, on the side facing the Via Appia, you can see a rectangular niche that once was the epigraph showing the age of the deceased, which was usually marked in years, months and days. The sepulchral chamber, where the sarcophagus was placed, presents a square plan which measures about 3 meters on each side; it’s covered by a barrel vault and is illuminated by various loopholes.

The name, of course, is not Roman but it was born due to popular belief and it documents the passage of the Crusaders who were heading back home from Jerusalem. This very peculiar and interesting funeral monument is indeed attributed to one of them.

Always linked to the presence of the knights and the spread ofchanson de feats in Campania is the legend handed down by the people and recovered by prof. M. Russo, which concerns the tower and connects it to three tectonic depressions, linked to the volcanic activity of the Roccamonfina volcano, located one in the Ciaurro area near the mausoleum: one in "la fossa" and one in what has become the Falciano lake.

by Raimonda Rossi

Once I was in Sinuessa, the Via Appia turns right to avoid the marshes and became the foothills and right towards Capua. Like every other consular road, there were numerous funeral monuments along the way. In the section between Mondragone and Falciano (GPS: 41 07'48''N, 13.56'15''E) it is possible to enjoy the Torre del Paladino (Tower of the Paladin) which is incorporated in a private property in via San Paolo, in the locality of Ciaurro in Falciano del Massico (CE).

The tower, also called "Torre del ballarino", is a turreted mausoleum which dates back to the first century BC: it comes as an 8 meters high and 6 meters wide parallelepipedon which is characterized by a nucleus in Roman concrete (opera caementicumin Latin) and limestone blocks that should once have been covered. The entrance faces Monte Massico and it’s located in the north of the building; heading south, however, on the side facing the Via Appia, you can see a rectangular niche that once was the epigraph showing the age of the deceased, which was usually marked in years, months and days. The sepulchral chamber, where the sarcophagus was placed, presents a square plan which measures about 3 meters on each side; it’s covered by a barrel vault and is illuminated by various loopholes.

The name, of course, is not Roman but it was born due to popular belief and it documents the passage of the Crusaders who were heading back home from Jerusalem. This very peculiar and interesting funeral monument is indeed attributed to one of them.

Always linked to the presence of the knights and the spread of chanson de feats in Campania is the legend handed down by the people and recovered by prof. M. Russo, which concerns the tower and connects it to three tectonic depressions, linked to the volcanic activity of the Roccamonfina volcano, located one in the Ciaurro area near the mausoleum: one in "la fossa" and one in what has become the Falciano lake.

Bibliography

Ugo Zannini, La via Appia attraverso i secoli(The Appian Way through the centuries), Italian Geographic Publishing Institute, 2002.

TRIVIA

THE LEGEND OF THE PALADIN

di Michele Russo: Profondo conoscitore del territorio Domizio e presidente dell' Archeoclub Mondragonese. E' laureato all'Accademia di belle Arti di Napoli e insegna al Liceo artistico di Cascano.

It was a day of celebration in the palace, the king's son was born but suddenly, a blind old woman entered the palace and gave an ominous portent: the newborn child would die at sixteen years old, struck by lightning. The terrified father ordered that the tower should be built in a distant locale where his son could live unhindered. The boy grew up to be a handsome and strong young man and always asked to be able to go out and take a ride in the mountains. The father, still scared by the story told by the old woman, always scanned the sky whenever his son asked to go out and explore the world until one day, since there were no clouds, he decided to give in to his son’s requests. The prince was happy on his splendid horse and rode among the mountains enjoying the perfect weather and the clear sky. The father was happy too, but he just couldn’t stop scanning the sky in fear of seeing some clouds appear on the horizon. Suddenly, however, the sky began to cover itself, and even the little prince was deeply frightened by the weather change. When he saw the sky turning black, he remembered that a serious danger loomed over him. He started riding to get back to the tower as soon as possible. His father was desperate as he felt that the prophecy was coming true and it was his fault, for he should not allow the boy to go out. Meanwhile, the first drops of rain started falling and the boy ran more and more for fear of lightning. To gain ground he made three huge leaps with his horse and the earth gave way as if to protect it in his belly.

The third jump was fatal as lightning struck him right near the tower. He lost his life in that valley which is still today called the "pit of the paladin".