Capys, Decio Magio e la nuova Capua nel Rinascimento

Ancient history played an important role for the cultural identity of Capuan élites during the Renaissance. The new Capua, founded by the Lombards in the 9th century, exploited the material and immaterial heritage of the ancient Capua (nowadays Santa Maria Capua Vetere), which in late Middle Ages and Modern Ages was a rural settlement belonging to the Capuan district. The illumination of the founder Capys was used in a juridical manuscript of 1480, a ‘pocket book’ exhibited in the courts of the Kingdom of Naples in order to defend the town’s privileges. Historical and mithological information about the ancient Capua, althought not deeply discussed, were quoted in a legal apology which supported the right of Capua to precede Aversa in public ceremonies (ante 1513). Decio Magio, the symbol of civic virtue and fidelity, was celebrated in the flamboyant entry of emperor Charles V (1536).