Aversa

Aversa, a town in the Terra di Lavoro, Italy, 8 miles from Naples. The plain in which it stands is covered with vineyards and orange groves, and is greatly resorted to by the Neapolitans, who much appreciate the sweetmeats for which the place is famous. Besides being the seat of a bishopric, Aversa has a large foundling hospital and lunatic asylum. The Normans first established themselves here. In the castle, once a royal residence, now a palace, Andreas of Hungary, husband of Joanna I. of Naples, was strangled (1345).