Cellarulo Archaeological Area
The ground here was being worked long before Rome had a name for this part of Italy. At Cellarulo, a strip of land roughly a kilometre long where the Calore and Sabato rivers meet, kilns were firing ceramics and roof tiles as early as the fourth century BC. What you walk through is the original settlement that would eventually become Roman Beneventum.
The archaeological park opened in July 2010, but be prepared: recent accounts describe it as largely unattended, with the 2015 Calore flood leaving its mark. This is a place for the genuinely curious, not for those wanting a curated experience.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who make the effort tend to come in from the Via Grimoaldo Re entrance at Rione Ferrovia, which puts you on the longer axis of the site. The second entrance, behind Stazione Appia, is useful if you're arriving by train. Wear shoes you don't mind muddying, and go early in the day before the sun gets serious.
The story behind Cellarulo Archaeological Area
Cellarulo's story begins with a pre-Roman settlement dedicated to craft production — ceramic vessels and building tiles fired in furnaces that archaeologists have dated to the fourth century BC. The area corresponds to what became the original core of Roman Benevento, and its late-antique urban layout remained buried until excavations in the 1990s by the Archaeological Superintendence of Salerno-Avellino-Benevento first broke the surface.
More systematic work followed in 2001, covering around three hectares near those earlier trenches. Between 2008 and 2009, Prof. Marcello Rotili of the Second University of Naples coordinated a further phase of investigation. The park was formally inaugurated on 15 July 2010, though a flood in October 2015 caused damage that has not been fully addressed.
Good to know
Two entrances: Via Grimoaldo Re near Rione Ferrovia, and Contrada Santa Clementina behind Stazione Appia. Parking is available. The site sits on intersecting cycle paths linking to the city centre. Spring and autumn visits are far more comfortable than summer, when temperatures can push well above 35°C.
Mid-April to mid-June and September to early October are the most manageable windows — mild temperatures and lower rainfall. July and August are dry but punishing, with afternoon highs regularly reaching 36–37°C and occasionally climbing higher; the site offers little shade.
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What travellers say about Cellarulo Archaeological Area
A beautiful city archaeological park inaugurated in 2010 but closed in 2012. It is now reopened to the public; you start by walking across the bridge to reach the park. The park is located in the northwest part of the city and is a testament to an ancient Roman settlement and its river port. Here you can stroll, hike, and walk your dogs. It's a place with fantastic views and plenty of wild flora. Accessible on foot and by bicycle, there is parking available outside.
It could be an added value for the city, but instead it has become an abandoned place full of dangers for children, which is a shame because it offers a wonderful view.
It could be a nice park if only it were open to the public
Unfortunately it is abandoned
Abandoned, what a pity
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