  A consistent description of low-energy charge and spin responses of the
insulating Sr_2CuO_2Cl_2 lamellar system is found in the framework of a
one-band Hubbard model which besides $U$ includes hoppings up to 3^{rd}
nearest-neighbors. By combining mean-field calculations, exact diagonalization
(ED) results, and Quantum Monte Carlo simulations (QMC), we analyze both charge
and spin degrees of freedom responses as observed by optical conductivity,
ARPES, Raman and inelastic neutron scattering experiments. Within this
effective model, long-range hopping processes flatten the quasiparticle band
around $(0,\pi)$. We calculate also the non-resonant A_{1g} and B_{1g} Raman
profiles and show that the latter is composed by two main features, which are
attributed to 2- and 4-magnon scattering.
