Pietracupa - Pietracupa

Pietracupa is a center of the Molise.

To know

Geographical notes

Located on a hill ofMolise Apennines in Central Molise, the country is 14 km from Trivento, 30 from Pietrabbondante, 28 from Campobasso.

Background

The center was built in the early medieval period (the Latin name would attest it), probably as a monastic settlement and was the feudal domain of many families, among which the most important were those of the De Molisio, the De Regina, the Eboli di Castropignano, and the Francone family who held Pietracupa from 1676 to 1810, the year in which the feudal relationship ended. The Francone family had obtained in 1704 the title of Princes of Pietracupa which passed to their heirs Caracciolo di Torchiarolo,

Two abbeys were subsequently built in the Pietracupese countryside, the first dedicated to San Pietro in Formoso, probably destroyed by the earthquake of 9 September 1349, and the second of Sant'Alessandro, no longer active after the earthquake of December 1456. In 1360 it was built in Gothic style the church of San Gregorio, then rebuilt in 1560 after the earthquake. In the heart of the Morgia there is an ancient rock church brought back to the cult in the last century, inside which there is a sixteenth-century crucifix, a stationary stone cross and an altar formed by the grindstone of an old mill.

How to orient yourself

The town develops around a curious rock outcrop, which rises at its center like a finger pointing towards the sky.

Neighborhoods

Its municipal territory also includes the locality of Piana Di Sciarra.

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

• A14 Adriatic motorway: exit at Montenero di Bisaccia/Vast South/San Salvo, take the SS 650 in the direction of Isernia/ Montenero di Bisaccia, exit towards Trivento/ Castelguidone, cross Trivento and continue towards Pietracupa (SP 142).
• A1 Autostrada del Sole:

• from the north exit at San Vittore, follow direction Campobasso, reach the SS 17, continue for the SS 650 in the direction of San Salvo, continue in the direction of Salcito / Pietracupa.
• from the south exit at Caianello, turn in the direction of Benevento, continue for Campobasso, SS 17, take the SS 650 in the direction of San Salvo, continue in the direction of Salcito / Pietracupa.

• From Campobasso take the SS 87, continue on the SS 647, continue on the SP 139 in the direction of Fossalto, turn on the SP 138 in the direction of Pietracupa (SP 142).

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 Sant'Antonio Abate. In ancient times monks settled in the caves of Morgia around the sixth century AD and moved to the village of the abbey of San Formoso, when around the year 1000 the site was intended for the construction of a castle with its fortifications. Roberto di Pietracupa was the lord of the fief who had a new sacred building built dedicated to San Gregorio. The church was destroyed in 1456 by an earthquake, like the Abbey of Sant'Alessandro.

On that occasion, the largest cave in the Morgia resumed its function as a rock church until a new church was built at the end of the seventeenth century and dedicated to Sant'Antonio abate. The building has a gabled facade and a single portal with a broken tympanum. Three windows give light inside. A side entrance is located in the right aisle. The internal walls have various niches.

The altar of the apse, raised above the floor of the hall, has the characteristic of being made up of a single marble mass. The bell tower, divided into four orders, is located on the left. The rock church is located under the parish building; It is accessed via a staircase. Its location makes it called improperly crypt. 

• Rock Church (Crypt). The cave has returned to its ancient function as a rock church since the 1970s. The millstone of the old town mill serves as a circular altar, placed in the center of the cave; the faithful are placed all around.

The rock church houses a sixteenth-century crucifix without arms, a life-size Infant Jesus in olive wood from Nazareth, as well as a wooden chalice. Both of these objects were blessed by Pope John Paul II; they are used for the Christmas holidays, when solemn rites are celebrated in the cave, sung masses, and in the village the bagpipers sing music and songs specially composed, in addition to the parades of the 'ndocce. 

• Chapel of San Gregorio Papa. It was rebuilt in the years around 1560, after the destruction suffered by the earthquake of 1465, when the primitive construction dating back to 1360 was irreparably ruined.

It is located outside the town, on a hill, and until the construction of the nearby cemetery was used for the burial of the inhabitants, who were buried in its crypt until 1889.

The building has returned a fresco, recently rediscovered, which is believed to date back to the time of reconstruction. 

• Ruins of the Abbey of S. Alessandro. The remains are found in Colle Sant'Alessandro, on a site that has produced many Samnite and Roman finds. The Abbey was flourishing in the fourteenth century. It was probably destroyed and abandoned following telluric events. 
• Rock Museum. 10-14 years € 1.00; over 14 years € 3.00.. Sat 16: 00-18: 00; Sun 11: 00-13: 00 and 16: 00-18: 00.. It is a permanent exhibition of instruments of torture. Entry to children under the age of 10 is prohibited 

Events and parties

• Carnival. One is held during the carnival party representation masquerade that sees a puppet representing the Carnival try. Carried through the streets by characters disguised as devils, it is then thrown into the flames by sliding it through a long wire from the upper part of the town to the stake placed in the lower part. 
• Grape festival. in late October. Allegorical floats prepared by the population parade to celebrate the harvest. Between music and dancing, local delicacies and wine are consumed in abundance. 
• Sunday Mass before Christmas. A suggestive tradition born almost by chance in the first decade of the 2000s and has now become a fixed appointment. The sung mass is celebrated in the Crypt with the accompaniment of lyrical songs, lullabies of bagpipers, lighting of 'ndocce; this event has defined Pietracupa the Bethlehem of Molise. 
• Cartocci and n'docce. December 24th. At the sound of vespers on December 24th, called wind lights are lit on the windowsills of the houses cartocci while in the streets of the town the lighting of the n'docce takes place, more than 2.5 m high and built in bundles with branches of reeds, straw, stumps and dried vine shoots. Each family, or groups of several families, participates in the construction and installation of their own shower. It is made to burn to want to heat the air in the cold night in which Jesus is born. 

What to do

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

Average prices

• 41.68247614.5196041 Bar "La Morgia", Via Trento, 31, ☎ 39 0874 768107. 

Where stay

Average prices

• 41.68229114.5158911 Hotel residence Punta Paradiso, Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi, 2A, ☎ 39 0874 768033. 
• Holiday House “La Morgia di Pietracupa” - Diffused hotel, Via San Rocco, 7, ☎ 39 0874 768149, fax: 39 0874 768136. It is a municipal structure 

Safety

Pharmacy

• 41.68241914.5213321 Altieri, Largo Casaleno, ☎ 39 0874 768701. 

How to keep in touch

• 41.68278714.5187622 Italian post, Via Trento, 7, ☎ 39 0874 768175. 

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.
• Pietrabbondante - The remains of the fortifications and the spectacular Samnite Theater of Monte 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
• Trivento - Ancient bishopric, in its cathedral the crypt of particular historical-architectural value dating back to the 11th-12th century is preserved.

Other projects

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

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