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Isernia in Molise

Poggio Sannita

Province of Isernia, Molise region, Italy

Rising on a hill south-west of the Verrino river, and divided from Abruzzo through the Sente river, was originally called Caccavone from the ancient name of the copper container used for milk ("caccavo"); then in 1922 the name was changed into Poggio Sannita by the municipal administration since by then the old name had taken a disgusting connection. Archeological findings on the hills of the area show that there were settlements of shepherds belonging to the Caraceni people, having as their center the Sanctuary of Bovianum Vetus (Pietrabbondante). In Roman times the area was colonized with military camps and villas. When, after the fall of the Roman empire, the Saracens invaded Molise in 860 AD, the local populations took refuge on a rock called Castello, which was the original nucleus of the present center. On the nearby hill of San Cataldo there was probably a monastery of the same name, in honor of a Lombard saint of the 7th century, whose feast is still held on 17 august.

The name Caccavone is first mentioned in the 8th century when it was given to Count Randoisio. In 1070 among the crusaders to the Holy Land there is a Raul de Petra, lord of Caccavone. Then under the Angevin rule the fiefdom was given to Carlo I Caracciolo Carrafa, and his descendants kept it until 1515, when it was sold to Salvitto di Carfagna from Capracotta, who in his turn sold it again to Alfonso de Raho, the noblest of the lords of Caccavone. His family kept the fiefdom until 1633, when they sold it to Baron Santo de Santis. The last lords where the Petra family, until 1806 when Gioacchino Murat, king of Naples, abolished the feudal rights.

A son of emigrants from Poggio Sannita is Nino Ricci, one of the main Italian Canadian writers of our times, author of novel "Lives of the Saints" (1990), the first volume of a trilogy continued in "In a Glass House" (1993), and "Where she has gone" (1997), telling the story of a young boy, Vittorio Innocente, an emigrant to Canada, his painful integration process and his final return to Molise.

Altitude: 705 m a.s.l -- Territory: hilly -- Population: ca. 900 inhabitants -- Zip/postal code: 86086 -- Phone Area Code: 0865 -- Patron Saint: San Prospero -- Frazioni & Località: Castel di Croce, Macchiabovino, Scuola, Scuordo, Vuttaro, Mucchi, Caino, Quarto, San Cataldo, Valle Del Porco, Cooper Sant'Elia, Sente, Rimanci, Carapellese, Scalzavacca.

WHAT TO SEE
  • Petra Palace, built at the end of 15th century, today seat of the public Library and a congress room among the best in the province, hosting also a permanent photo exhibition on the past and present life of the center
  • Church of Santa Vittoria, rebuilt after the terrible earthquake of 1720 on the previous Christian temple, probably existing in very ancient times, since Santa Vittoria was deeply venerated in the 5th and 6th century AD in Marsica and Abruzzo Citra. In 1743 the precious relic of San Prospero, now the patron of Poggio Sannita, was presented to the church. Noteworthy also the fine organ built by the local D’Onofrio family and the many paintings and statues.
  • EVENTS
  • 3 June Santa Lucia with a procession and blessing of vehicles (Santa Lucia, protector of eiyesight, is also patron saint of motorists)
  • August 17: San Cataldo
  • August 21: San Prospero, Patron saint
  • Second sunday in October, grapes festival
  • 25 March, Annunciation of the Lord, when a pilgrimage used to be held by young boys passing throogh thorn bushes to the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie as a protection against hernia

    SURNAMES: [83 different surnames presently recorded in the phone directory]
    (the number after each surname refers to the number of families - no number means one family)
    AMICONE 19 * ANTENUCCI * ANTINUCCI 6 * ASCIOLLA * BARTILONE * BARTOLOMEO 12 * BATTISTA 13 * BORRELLI 2 * BOTTARO * CAIAZZO * CAMPERCHIOLI * CAPPUSSI 9 * CATAURO * CRISPOLETTI * D ONOFRIO * D'AGNILLO 3 * D'ALENA ZARLENGA * D'ALOISIO * D'ONOFRIO 15 * DE SIMONE 2 * DELLA ROCCA 4 * DI BENEDETTO * DI CARLO 10 * DI FILIPPO 11 * DI IACOVO * DI LAUDO 4 * DI LULLO 13 * DI MUSTO * DI PASQUA * DI PINTO 2 * DI SALVO 2 * FABRIZIO 2 * FALCIONE 9 * FANTILLI * FASANO * FICCA * FORCIONE * GALANTE * IACOVONE 3 * LA ROCCA 14 * LABATE 3 * LABBATE 5 * LAROCCA * LUCENTE * MANCINI 25 * MANZO * MARCHESANI 2 * MARIANI * MARITINO * MASSANISSO * MASTRONARDI 9 * MASTROSTEFANO * MEALE * MECCIA * MISISCHIA * MOAURO 33 * MONTI * ORLANDO * OTTOBRINO * PALOMBA 64 * PANELLA * PANNUNZIO * PAOLETTI 12 * PAOLUCCI * PIETRAVALLE * POLICELLA 13 * POLSINELLI * PONTINI * PORRONE 7 * RATONI * RICCI 5 * RICCIUTO * SABATINO 2 * SABELLI 5 * SANTANGELO * SIGISMONDI * SILVESTRI * SPOLLINI * STAFFOLI * TAMILIA 2 * TESONE 2 * TORELLI * VESPA 5 * ZARLENGA 6

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