Pietrabbondante - Pietrabbondante

Pietrabbondante is a center of the Molise.

To know

The town is known for the richness of its Samnite and Roman archaeological remains of primary importance.

Geographical notes

It is located in theUpper Molise, at 1027 m a.s.l. nestled between huge boulders called "Morge" at the foot of Mount Saraceno (1250 m a.s.l.).

When to go

The climate is semi-continental, with mild summers and severe winters with abundant snow.

Background

The remains of the Samnite fortifications on Mount Saraceno testify to the human presence on the territory of Pietrabbondante since remote times. Near the inhabited center are the remains of the ancient settlement which was the most important sanctuary and political center of the Samnites between the 2nd century BC. and 95 BC

The town's name derives from the large quantity of stones and stones scattered in its countryside.In feudal times it was the capital of the 34 Counties that formed the Duchy of Benevento. The fiefdom belonged to Roberto di Cornay, the Carafa family, Guglielmo d'Alemagna, Cantelmo, Galluccio, De Raho, Marchesano and D'Andrea who were the last owners of the fief. Until 1807 it was part, together with Agnone, Cantaloupe is Belmonte del Sannio, ofAbruzzo Hither; following the Napoleonic reorganization it was ceded to Molise.

The coat of arms of the municipality, very ancient, consists of a pinned shield, called Samnite, interzied in the band. In the upper part, blue, are the three Morge at whose feet stands Pietrabbondante, each surmounted by an ear of wheat. In the central part, white, there are the letters B NTE. The lower part, gray, carries a slightly rippled surface of water into the field. Its reading therefore constitutes a kind of puzzle which, once solved, gives it the name of Pietrabbondante.

How to orient yourself

Neighborhoods

Its municipal territory also includes the hamlets of Arco, Macere, Ortovecchio, Ragusa-San Vincenzo, Sant'Andrea, Troilo and Vigna La Corte.

How to get

By plane

• Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO), Via dell 'Fiumicino Airport, 320, ☎ 39 06 65951. 
• Naples Capodichino Airport (NAP), Viale F. Ruffo di Calabria, 80144 Naples NA, ☎ 39 081 7896111. 
• Pescara airport (Abruzzo International Airport), Via Tiburtina Km 229.100, ☎ 39 085 4324201. 

By car

• Adriatica A14 motorway, exit at Montenero di Bisaccia/Vast South/San Salvo, take the SS 650 (Fondo Valle Trigno) in the direction of Isernia, turn onto the SP 15 towards Pietrabbondante.
• A1 Autostrada del Sole:

• from the north exit at San Vittore, follow the direction Venafro on the SS 6, in Venafro continue on the SS 85, continue on the SS 17, continue on the SS 650 in the direction of San Salvo, turn onto the Chiauci Provincial Road in the direction of Pietrabbondante.
• from the south exit at Caianello, follow the signs for Isernia, SS 85, continue on the SS 17, continue on the SS 650 in the direction of San Salvo, turn onto the Chiauci Provincial Road in the direction of Pietrabbondante.

• From Isernia take the SS 85, continue on the SS 17, continue on the SS 650 in the direction of San Salvo, turn onto the Chiauci Provincial Road in the direction of Pietrabbondante.
• From Campobasso take the SS 87 (state road Bifernina), near Vinchiaturo continue on the SS 17, continue on the SS 650, turn onto the Chiauci Provincial Road in the direction of Pietrabbondante.

On the train

• Railway station of Isernia (about 30 km away):

• Line Termoli - Campobasso - Isernia
• Line Rome- Isernia - Campobasso
• Line Naples- Isernia- Campobasso

Continue to Pietrabbondante by bus with the "SATI" bus lines (Isernia - Pietrabbondante - Agnone line).

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. 

How to get around

What see

• Church of Santa Maria Assunta. The church has fragments of Oscan tombstones. It is located in the historic center which was built with the use of stones and boulders from the nearby archaeological site. 

• Bovianum Vetus. The real treasure of Pietrabbondante is the Hellenistic-Italic complex located in Calcatello. They are there two temples "A" and "B" and a theater, with stone seats with a characteristic anatomical shape, used as a meeting place. During the summer important classical theatrical events take place. The architectural terracottas found in the complex are combined with the Hellenistic art of Asia Minor and compared with those present at Archaeological Civic Museum of Monte Rinaldo.

It is controversial and contended with Bojano the location, in the archaeological site, of the ancient capital of Sannio: Bovianum Vetus. 

• 41.73973314.3873431 Theater and temples. The Roman theater and temples are part of an archaeological area on Monte Saraceno, known as The Sanctuary.

The district of Bovianum Vetus, which also includes Pietrabbondante, became a Roman municipality in the 2nd century BC. after the Samnite wars. The theater was built at that time, with completion works in 95 BC. approximately, as Tito Livio also testifies. The theater and the two sanctuaries were frequented until the end of the Roman Empire, despite the decrees of Theodosius who prohibited pagan worship.

With the Lombard and Norman invasions the temples were looted and used for the construction of the new inhabited area of ​​Pietrabbondante, under the mountain walls. Subsequently various natural cataclysms buried the sacred Samnite area, and only in 1858 was the theater rediscovered due to some fragments protruding from the grass.

Today the theater is one of the most representative sites of Roman archeology of Molise. New and important archaeological finds, found following recent excavations, greatly increase the importance of the site and give hope for a definitive historical determination.

The domus publica, a building that represents a real unicum in Italy, so much so that the site is defined as "the fulcrum of religion and politics of the Sannio".

Theater it is built with six sectors and is in a semicircle. On the sides there are two arched doors for the entrance of the public. Originally there were five, with half-columns with Ionic grooves. On the stage there are still the semi-square blocks of stone, on which the tables for the scene to be represented were placed. Each seat of the semicircle is a squared block with an incorporated backrest, lying together with another. On both ends, the last seating steps are decorated with griffin paws, a symbol that was reserved for the city's high personalities. It is estimated that the seats were for 2,500 spectators.

The two temples they are preserved by the pavement and fragments of the one-piece colonnade. It was accessed via a stone staircase. One of the two sanctuaries is dedicated to the goddess Vittoria, as evidenced by an epigraph in the Oscan language. According to the hypothesis, the two temples had the areas surmounted by frames with polychrome decoration. A very important Samnite inscription recalls the local personality of Stazio Claro who would have financed the construction of the two podiums of the temples. 

Events and parties

• Theatrical review, Italic theater. The most important international event is the theatrical review organized at the Italic theater in the summer. The theatrical event Sannita Theater Festival has passed forty years of life. 

What to do

• Arco Sports Association (ASA), Contra Arco Alto - Conzè, ☎ 39 347 3610359, @[email protected]. Small sports center with a tennis court in GreenSet, surrounded by a beautiful green hill and by suggestive paths that lead to uncontaminated fields and woods as well as to the magnificent Sannitico Theater. The exact name of the locality (which is about three kilometers from Pietrabbondante) is Colle Fagioli - formerly belonging to the Court of Alberico Di Iorio - (called Alberico Conzè). 

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

• 41.7209814.3807051 La Taverna dei Sanniti - Pizza restaurant, Contrada S. Andrea, ☎ 39 0865 769007. 

Where stay

Average prices

• 41.74696214.3832141 B&B Panorama, Contrada Andolfi 9 (Locality Ortovecchio), ☎ 39 338 3435355. 

Safety

Pharmacy

• 41.74766214.3840171 Raven, Corso Sannitico 115, ☎ 39 0865 76295. 

How to keep in touch

Post office

• 41.74842614.3864962 Italian post, Corso Sannitico, 120, ☎ 39 0865 76149. 

Around

• Agnone - Ancient Samnite city, known worldwide for the traditional and centuries-old artisan construction of bells, has an interesting historic center and an expanding tourist infrastructure.
• Isernia - Among the first documented Paleolithic settlements in Europe, it was then a flourishing Samnite city, capital of the Italic League, later a Roman Municipium. Its millennial past has left it with an important monumental heritage that extends up to the pre-Roman era, as well as very important prehistoric finds.
• Capracotta - Its facilities and its ski slopes make it a winter sports center frequented by skiers from Molise, Abruzzo, Lazio is Campania.
• Trivento - Ancient bishopric, in its cathedral the crypt of particular historical-architectural value dating back to the 11th-12th century is preserved.

Itineraries

• Castles in the province of Isernia - There are numerous manors of theMolise Apennines in the countries ofUpper Molise, ofIsernino he was born in Venafrano. Some are in ruins due to war or earthquakes; others have been recovered; many have a military aspect, with little or no external architectural evolution of transformation into a stately home.

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Pietrabbondante
• Commons contains images or other files on Pietrabbondante

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