Aversa

Aversa
Comune
Città di Aversa
Arco dell'Annunziata
Coat of arms
Location of Aversa in Caserta Province
Aversa Location of Aversa in Italy
Coordinates: 40°58′N 14°12′E / 40.967°N 14.200°E / 40.967; 14.200
Country	Italy
Region	Campania
Province / Metropolitan city	Caserta (CE)
Government
• Mayor	Enrico De Cristofaro
Area
• Total	8.7 km2 (3.4 sq mi)
Elevation	39 m (128 ft)
Population (1 January 2016)
• Total	53,047
• Density	6,100/km2 (16,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Aversani
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	81031
Dialing code	081
Patron saint	St. Paul
Saint day	January 25
Website	Official website

Aversa [aˈvɛrsa] (Neapolitan: Averza) is a city and comune in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 5 kilometres (3 miles) north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the agro aversano, producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical buffalo mozzarella). Aversa is also the main seat of the faculties of Architecture and Engineering of the Seconda università degli studi di Napoli (Second University of Naples).

Aversa is located near the city of Naples, from which it is separated by only 5 kilometres (3 miles), and only 16 kilometres (10 miles) from Caserta, the capital of the province to which it belongs, the Caserta Province.

It is located in a fertile coastal plain north of Naples, thus serving as a market for agricultural products to the city. The plain on which it sits was known in ancient Roman times as the Campania Felix.

Although some archaeological sites excavated near Aversa have revealed human presence in the area since the Neolithic period, the first known inhabitants in the area were the Liburnians, people related to the Illyrians, whose territory was bounded on the south by Naples, west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and north along the Clanio river. However, some say that the founding of the city took place with the Etruscans.

In any case, because of endemic malaria that ravaged the region, the primitive city was abandoned.