| Jelsi | ||
 | ||
| State | Italy | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Molise | |
| Territory | Molise Apennines | |
| Altitude | 580 m a.s.l. | |
| Surface | 28.50 km² | |
| Inhabitants | 1.781 (2015) | |
| Name inhabitants | Jelsesi | |
| Prefix tel | 39 0874 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 86015 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
| Patron | Sant'Andrea apostolo and Sant'Anna (30 November and 26 July) | |
Position
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| Institutional website | ||
Jelsi is a center of the Molise.
To know
Geographical notes
The town is located on theMolise Apennines in Central Molise; is 18 km from Campobasso, 25 from Larino, 44 from Trivento.
Background
The first real population to settle in the countryside was that of the Sicilians, then driven back to the south by the Osci, and then the olso branch of the Caraceni. But the first original nucleus of the town was perhaps formed during the fifth century (500-476 BC) with populations of Etruscan-Campanian culture, as in this period the Ionic style of the antefix found in the municipal countryside, now preserved in the church of the Annunziata.
In 1562 the town had 169 families. The village had taken shape in the thirteenth century under the guidance of Bertrand Beaumont together with Gildone. After his death the construction of a mausoleum was born which became the Angevin castle. Throughout the course of the modern age Jelsi was under the civil and judicial administration of the Capitanata.
How to orient yourself
Jelsi: full screen map.Neighborhoods
Its municipal territory also includes the localities of Pagliaio Di Facco, Piane.
How to get
By plane
- Pescara airport (Abruzzo International Airport), Via Tiburtina Km 229.100, ☎ 39 085 4324201.
- Naples Capodichino Airport (NAP), Viale F. Ruffo di Calabria, 80144 Naples NA, ☎ 39 081 7896111.
- Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO), Via dell 'Fiumicino Airport, 320, ☎ 39 06 65951.
By car
Adriatic Highway A14:
Adriatic Highway A14:- from the north in the direction of Pescara exit at Termoli, follow the direction Campobasso/Larino, take the SS 87 (state road Bifernina), continue on the SS 647, follow the signs for Campobasso, go through Campobasso, take the SS 645 and follow the signs for Jelsi.
- from the south follow the direction Pescara, exit a Foggia, follow the direction Campobasso/Pescara, take the SS 673, reach the SS 17 in the direction of Lucera/Campobasso, cross Lucera, continue on the SS 645 and follow the signs for Jelsi (SS 17).
A1 Autostrada del Sole:
A1 Autostrada del Sole:- from the north exit at San Vittore, direction Campobasso, reach the SS 17 following the Campobasso sign, continue on the SS 87 (Bifernina state road), continue on the SP 162 and follow the signs for Jelsi.
- from the south continue on the A16 motorway, follow the direction Benevento, in Benevento continue on the SS 88, exit at Campobasso, take the SS 87 (state road Bifernina) in the direction of Campobasso/Isernia, continue on the SS 17 in the direction of Campobasso, continue on the SS 87, turn on the SP 162 in the direction of Jelsi.
- From Termoli follow the direction for Campobasso taking the SS 87 (state road Bifernina) and the SS 647, go through Campobasso, take the SS 645 and follow signs for Jelsi.
- From Campobasso take the Strada Statale 645 and follow the signs for Jelsi.
On the train
The nearest railway station is that of Campobasso (about 17 km away). Continue by bus to Jelsi.
The nearest railway station is that of By bus
The main public transport companies operating in the Molise area are the following:- Autolinee C.L.P. S.p.A., ☎ 39 081 5311707, 39 081 5312424, @[email protected]. Direct connection from Naples to Campomarino and Termoli
- Lariviera bus lines.
- SATI bus lines.
- Molise Trasporti bus lines.
The main public transport companies operating in the Molise area are the following:How to get around
What see
- Carafa Palace (Ducal Palace). It has an irregular rectangular plan, which shows the mixture of architectural styles. At the base it has medieval ramparts, while the succorpo dates back to the 18th century.
- Angevin Castle (Palazzo Valiante Capozio). The castle of Jelsi still retains the rectangular structure with cylindrical control towers. Although modeled in the 1700s, it still has the large entrance with the loggia of windows. The Capozio family, which still owns it since the end of the 18th century, preserves the signs of time unaltered.
- Church of Sant'Andrea. It was rebuilt in the 17th century and only the bell tower belongs to the medieval structure. It has the classic form of a baroque church. Inside is of interest a canvas of the martyrdom of the saint.
- Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Built in the Renaissance period, it is the testimony of the ancient history of Jelsi. The bell tower is a historical fake, while the facade is from the sixteenth century, with two statues in loggias adjacent to the portal. On the left side there is still the old loggia of the cloister, with an internal well.
- Chapel of the Santissima Annunziata (close to the ducal palace of the Carafa). The portal, which shows the construction date of 1363, has capitals with floral and anthropomorphic motifs. Inside the chapel, with a single nave, has a raised presbytery. A staircase to the right of the entrance leads to the crypt, divided into two rooms by a round arch, which houses the funeral monument of Bertranda Beaumont and her husband Barrasio Barras.
- The crypt is decorated with fourteenth-century frescoes.
- Monumental Fountain (Town Hall Square). Made of marble in 1899, it is a circular basin adorned with four dolphins that emit jets of water towards the circumferendum, while a vertical jet falls on itself from a fifth central dolphin.
- The fountain was for a long time the water supply point for most of the inhabitants, as well as a place of aggregation and socializing.
- Civic Palace. Raised in pre-Renaissance style, it incorporates the Clock Tower and was built in part on the remains of the ancient church of San Biagio.
- Pinabello House.
- Ditches of Civitavecchia (In Civitavecchia). There are about twenty caves near the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, the exact use of which is not known. Excavated in the sandstone, they are composed of two overlapping rooms communicating through a square passage of 50 cm on each side. The lower area measures an average of 3 meters in height by 2.5 in diameter; the upper one, almost spherical, has a diameter of two meters.
- It is believed they may have served as deposits and burials similar to those left by the Sicilians in many areas of the peninsula.
- Others believe them to be warehouses for grain, few of which have remained visible, as they were filled in as they were considered dangerous for humans and animals.
- The set of pits is managed by the Sant'Amanzio Cultural Association which carries out maintenance and proposes them for a historical naturalistic itinerary.
- Wheat Museum (in the Convent district), @[email protected].
open all year by e-mail booking. Closely related to the Wheat festival, preserves many testimonies.
open all year by e-mail booking. Closely related to the Wheat festival, preserves many testimonies.Events and parties
- Wheat festival. The most important event that takes place in Jelsi, and which attracts many tourists every year, is the Wheat Festival in honor of Sant'Anna, as a thank you for the minor damage suffered by the community after the earthquake of 1805. The main attraction of the festival is the parade of some allegorical floats built and decorated with wheat, some of these are pulled by oxen (the so-called traglie), others instead by tractors.
The Tamer-master and the Bear
- The bear dance. Traditional masquerade recovered in 2008 by the community. The custom of bringing a man dressed in animal skins and with horns to frighten women and children into homes during carnival time is remembered until the first years after the Second World War, after which, for half a century, the post-war crisis, depopulation, social transformations, the advent of other ways of spending time together, thanks to TV, this tradition had been forgotten. Thanks to two witnesses, the last actors of this carnival representation, and past reminiscences of the inhabitants of the Molise town, it was possible to reconstruct the expressive characteristics of an ancient ritual. The bear was chained and carried through the streets and alleys; then he entered the houses with difficulty held by the "master", now a tamer, who ordered him to dance: "Dance bear, dance olé! ...". In this way the animal, by dint of taking sticks, hinted at some dance steps and all ended with the request for something to drink and some struffolo or the bear's eggs - a typical dessert - to eat. The director and author Pierluigi Giorgio in 2008 after his recovery, theatricalized the Ball in "The Ballad of the Bear-Man" (version still in progress and present in one of his documentaries), writing the sung text in rhyme and assigning parts to the figures, emblematic and symbolic that interact in the actions with the Bear, such as the tamer, the mayor, the priest, the teacher, the marshal, the commoners, the singer with the musicians. The pantomime set up in this way serves to underline the anthropological aspect of the zoo-anthropomorphic mask but at the same time focuses on the fear of the different to be subjugated to social rules or to be annihilated.
What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Where to eat
Average prices
- 1 Ciocca restaurant, Contrada Colle Padulo, ☎ 39 0874 716153. It is located in a tourist village with reception rooms. pizzeria, restaurant, tobacconist's, snack-bar, 3 swimming pools, water slide, five-a-side football, playground and ample spaces for fun.
- 2 Pizzeria Antichi Sapori - Roxy Bar, Piazza Umberto I, ☎ 39 0874 710355.
- 3 Pizzeria Pizza and ..., Via Roma, 56, ☎ 39 339 2559210.
- 4 La Traglia Restaurant, Via Roma, 5, ☎ 39 0874 710440.
Where stay
Safety
Pharmacy
- 1 Michilli, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 67, ☎ 39 0874 713001.
How to keep in touch
- Italian post, Via Roma, ☎ 39 0874 710145.
Around
- Campobasso - The old city develops on a hill around the castle in a dominant position. The modern city has developed in the plan. It is the most populous center of Molise, of which it is the regional capital.
- Larino - City with a remarkable past, it boasts a beautiful medieval village; its cathedral is among the best monuments of Molise. After Termoli is the most important center of attraction in the Molise coast.
- Trivento - Ancient bishopric, in its cathedral the crypt of particular historical-architectural value dating back to the 11th-12th century is preserved.
