Campobasso

Campobasso (Campuascio, Campuasce in campobassano) is an Italian town of 49 028 inhabitants, the capital of the province of the same name and of the Molise region.

First city in the region by population, it rises at 701 m a.s.l. (Monforte castle at 792 m), thus resulting, by altitude, the third regional capital of peninsular Italy after Potenza and L'Aquila, and the fourth absolute capital of the province, also considering Enna.

The city, probably of Lombard origin, is located in the area between the Biferno and Fortore rivers. The historic center collects numerous testimonies of the different eras of the city, from the thirteenth-century church of San Leonardo, to the fifteenth-century Monforte castle, and the neoclassical cathedral of the Holy Trinity. In 2018 Campobasso was awarded the title of village of considerable historical interest by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage.

The city is home to the University of Molise, the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Campobasso-Boiano, a Carabinieri Student School and a Student Agent School of the State Police.

 

Monuments and places of interest

Civil architecture

Palazzo San Giorgio: Town Hall building, built in 1879 on the medieval church of Santa Maria della Libera. The palace has a large portico with round arches and large square pillars. The elegant façade is divided into three floors and is surmounted by a clock face at the base of which is the writing "MUNICIPIO". In the center of the first floor there is a small balcony with marble columns supported by two columns with a smooth shaft and an Ionic capital. The windows on the first floor can be divided into two groups: out of fifteen in total, five of them have a round arch at the top, and the remaining ten are surmounted by a triangular-shaped drum; while on the second floor all fifteen windows do not have a tambour but a simple horizontal order. The pilasters on the second floor separate the windows and double in some points, dividing the façade into five vertical parts, as if they also wanted to highlight the internal division of the structure.
Palazzo Magno: The palace takes its name from Mercurio Magno, who obtained the property from the Neapolitan De Tilla family, who used the property as a private summer residence. Il Magno remained its owner until 1936, when the Province purchased it to establish its headquarters there. During the Second World War, the city of Campobasso had to undergo the requisition of several buildings, and among these there was also Palazzo Magno. From the rooms of the palace a hospital and a morgue were created by the Poles; with the movement of the front beyond the Gustav line, the Italian military engineers obtained permission to establish the Molise Minefield Reclamation Area Command in the complex, thus organizing the first mine clearing course in 1944. It was finally only in 1946 that the building was returned to the Province and since then it has still served as its headquarters.
Mario Pagano National Boarding School: Originally it was called "Collegio Sannitico", by decree of 12 March 1816 with headquarters at the Antoniani monastery as it was not suitable for a school building. Once the necessary works to adapt the premises were completed, the college was inaugurated on 16 November 1817, taking on the prefix Real with another royal decree dated 25 January 1854. The direction of the Real Sannitico College was entrusted to the Barnabite Fathers who carried out a project for the construction of a new building for schools and boarding schools. Having obtained the new structures, they asked and obtained to leave the management of the Institute. The college remained closed until the beginning of 1857, when Canon Berardo Palombieri was called to direct it, under whose administration in that same year the college was elevated to a high school. On 4 March 1865, under the proposal of the Ministry of Public Education, with a decree signed in Milan by King Vittorio Emanuele II, the college took its current name as the national boarding school "Mario Pagano", in honor of the Italian jurist, politician and patriot Mario Pagano . Curiosity: the valuable garden of the Convitto follows the area in which the "Cortile - Matese" sheep-track branch extended.
Bank of Italy Building: The Bank of Italy building was inaugurated in 1925; its construction involved the demolition of many houses, including that of the Old Dazio. The elegant building has three floors. The side façade offers a more scenographic architectural vision: in fact, being slightly arched, it almost seems to want to accommodate the austere monument to Gabriele Pepe.
Palazzo Mazzarotta: The palace dates back to the 16th century as the seat of a religious brotherhood and only in the 18th century did it become the residence of the Neapolitan noble family of Mazzarotta, whose origins date back to the Aragonese era. A branch of this family in fact moved to Campobasso and settled in the palace, where the coat of arms with the dolphin on the wavy sea is still visible, a variant of the original in which there was a snake. The internal part houses the Samnite Museum.
Palazzo Cannavina: Its construction dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries, it was then extensively remodeled during the 19th century. The building first belonged to the Carafa, dukes of Jelsi and feudal lords of Campobasso, then, not having these heirs, it passed to the barons of Campobasso who owned it until 1742. It was a state property until 1783, when it was purchased by the Salottolo family; it finally passed to the Cannavina family, whose name remained on the building. In 2011 the furnishings and the building were put up for sale by the heirs.
Palazzo dell'ex GIL: The Palazzo ex GIL was built between 1936 and 1938 based on a design by the Neapolitan architect Domenico Filippone (1903-1970), «an architecture that received unanimous appreciation for its clarity of distribution and attention to which the designer had responded to the actual consistency of the surrounding landscape and architectural environment, avoiding courtly and high-sounding resolutions". After having been the seat of the activities of the local Italian Youth of the Littorio, then of the trade unions and finally of a high school, in 1975 the powers over the building passed from the State to the Molise Region which however abandoned it to neglect and decay until, in September 1989, the building was recognized as being of historical and artistic interest and subjected to restrictions by the Superintendence. The Molise Region, intending to demolish the building, then turned to the Ministry for Cultural and Environmental Heritage, obtaining the revocation of the restriction. The conflicts continued and, despite the restoration of the restriction in 1992, in those years the two wings of the building were demolished.
Casa della Scuola: school building built in the 20th century, in neoclassical style, today home to the Municipal Library and Media Library and the Civic Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art.
Post and Telegraph Palace: it was built between 1923 and 1927. Designed by the engineer. Giambattista de Capoa it develops on a ground floor and two floors plus another superimposed one later. The three main entrance doors are embellished with sturdy railings on which there is, in the one on the left, the coat of arms of the City of Campobasso and, in the one on the right, the coat of arms of the Province of Campobasso. In the left side door, under the writing "Direction", there is a bronze bas-relief depicting Mercury holding lightning bolts, symbol of speed, in his right hand and the caduceus (stick with two coiled snakes) in his left hand.
Palace of Justice: it was built according to the engineer's design. Silverio Pappalardo between 1930 and 1936 in a style that is influenced by the austerity of the Doric style to signify the seriousness of the law for the defense of the citizen.
Government Palace: it was born in the late Middle Ages as a convent for Poor Clare nuns, which was then closed in the early 18th century. On those ruins, at the behest of the rich merchant Agostino Santellis, another convent was built for the Carmelite nuns. This new construction phase was also short-lived and, over time, it was put to various other uses. In 1810 it became a prison until 1862 when the inmates were transferred to the new building which still serves as the city prison. Subsequently, in 1856 the Council of the Province of Molise entrusted the architect Oscar Capocci with the task of presenting a renovation project in order to use it as an office building. It was delivered in 1861 and completed, with modifications, in 1862.
Palazzo Iapoce: Built in the 18th century by the Iapoce family, probably on pre-existing 14th and 15th century buildings, it was the subject of notable renovation and consolidation works between the 1980s and 1990s. It is the seat of the Regional Superintendency of Cultural Heritage of Molise.

 

Military architecture

Monforte Castle: An ancient parchment dating back to 1375 confirms the existence of a castle in the city already on that date, and is the oldest testimony in this regard. It dominates the city at around 790 m above sea level, almost a hundred higher than the average height of the municipality. The surrounding area is occupied by the Via Matris park, a nature trail which winds along the slope of the hill and retraces the stages of the Via Crucis. The castle is engraved on a five euro silver coin minted by the State Mint in 2012 for the "Italia delle Arti" series dedicated to the city of Campobasso.
The castle has a quadrangular plan, with four truncated circular corner towers, and a larger tower inside the body. Being a structure that remained faithful to the task of surveillance, even in the 18th and 19th centuries, the castle has maintained, both outside and inside, a rather austere appearance, preserving the original structure.
Medieval fortification walls: these are the medieval walls built in the 13th century, damaged in the earthquake of 1456, and dismantled after the serious earthquake of 1805. However, what remains of them are the boundary lines of the medieval village, and numerous watchtowers and city gates access to the old city. Among the towers are:
Terzano Tower:

It is located near the church of San Bartolomeo, in the highest part of the village. Famous because, according to legend, in the 16th century there were two families at war: the Brotherhood of the Crusaders (made up of artisans), and that of the Trinitarians (the new emerging commercial class). Their children Fonzo Mastrangelo and Delicata Civerra, opposed by their respective families in their love, were unable to realize their dream, because Delicata's father locked her daughter inside the tower, walling it up. Fonzo, desperate, joined the army to forget, and Delicata died of a broken heart, and after a few years Fonzo, having discovered the tragedy, decided to atone for his sins by becoming a friar. The tower has a circular plan in simple trezza stone, with some slits.

Torre San Mercurio (or Torre di Vico Carnaio):
fortified tower, restored in the 15th century, located near the former church of San Mercurio. Three-storey cylindrical tower, with three windows, which has now become a home. Its top is covered with tiles.

Porta Santa Cristina (Porta Mancina')
15th century door, modified in subsequent centuries. It has two large bastions at its base which fortify the urban arch, and at its side a semicircular tower, with three levels. Today it has become a civil residence, but has maintained its original appearance.
Torre dei Petitti and Torre dei Presutti
built in 1456 at the behest of Cola di Monforte. Today they are civil residences, but they have retained their original shoe-based structure, with a circular plan, divided into a maximum of three sectors.
Porta Sant'Antonio (Gate of Chiaia) and Torre Pettini
they are a fortified complex, built in 1456. The door is a simple round arch, located near the church of Sant'Antonio Abate. Further to the right is the tower, connected to a civil residence, once part of the fortified walls. The Tower has a circular plan with a shoe base.
Porta San Paolo (Gate of Rosa) and Torre dei Ferrante
they constitute a single defensive complex, near the entrance to the castle. The door is a rough round arch which however still has a very important medieval coat of arms and next to it there is the guard tower of Renaissance origin, which is also now a civil residence, but which has almost maintained its ancient appearance. It has a circular plan with a shoe base.
Porta Santa Maria della Croce - no longer exists; built in the 14th century by Nicola Monforte
Porta San Nicola (New Gate)
door built in 1456 at the behest of Cola di Monforte. It has the appearance of a city arch with a stone frame, and an archivolt with the coat of arms of the city's noble family.
Tower of Abbot Ginetti
It has a structure of irregular ashlars with a shoe base. It was built in 1456 at the behest of Cola di Monforte, and is located in via San Lorenzo.
Porta San Leonardo (Gate of the square - Gate of the village) - no longer exists.

 

Religious architecture

Cathedral of the Holy Trinity: In 1504, at the encouragement of the feudal lord Andrea di Capua, the church of the Holy Trinity was built outside the city walls. The great brotherhood of the Trinity had its seat in this church right from the start, suppressed only with the Napoleonic laws in 1809 and becoming famous for its bloody battles with the Crusaders for hegemony over the city. Destroyed by the earthquake of 1805, it was rebuilt to a design by the architect Bernardino Musenga. It was reopened for worship in 1829, becoming a parish and seat of the collegiate chapter. In 1860 it was closed to worship and used by regular troops as barracks. In 1900 it was reopened to the faithful, becoming a cathedral in 1927. With the move of the bishop's seat from Bojano to Campobasso, the building was the subject of further work. Designed by the architect Tullio Passarelli and the engineer. Between 1927 and 1933, Vittorio Tiberio saw to the raising of the central nave and the construction of the apse, the latter containing a good quality fresco by Romeo Musa depicting Pentecost and others by Amedeo Trivisonno. Recently, however, research published by two young scholars has reconstructed the baroquely sumptuous appearance of the church before 1805 and, furthermore, has brought to the fore the fact that since 1573 another large city brotherhood had been based in the church: that of the Santissimo Rosario.
Church of Sant'Antonio Abate: The church of Sant'Antonio Abate was built in 1572 on the remains of a pre-existing church of modest dimensions. It is the most representative monument of Baroque art in Campobasso. The interior has a nave with a magnificent high altar made of marble in 1748. On the side walls there are four altars carved in wood and covered in pure gold. In the church there are valuable paintings by Guarino da Solofra such as the canvas of Saint Benedict from 1643 and some other small-format works found on the altar dedicated to Saint Anthony the Abbot. Numerous paintings on the walls of the presbytery of the Neapolitan school of the 17th and 18th centuries, including those by the Molise painter Michele Scaroina.
Church of Sant'Antonio di Padova: modern church from the 1960s. It has a structure that quite respects the classic canons of a church: rectangular plan with a single nave and a turreted bell tower. The façade is marked by two orders of seven slender rectangular windows, with a relief of Saint Anthony in the center. The access has a porch. The interior has two lateral colonnades, and a semicircular apse, with rays on the top
Church of San Bartolomeo: The church dates back to the mid-13th century. and has a horizontal crowning façade, the central part of which is raised compared to the lateral ones. The pseudo-prothyrum that adorns the portal is the most evident element of the facade and has two blind arches divided by two columns leaning against the wall. Of Apulian inspiration, the porch is very flattened, almost as if it were no more than a high relief; inside the prothyrum there is a lunette divided into two sections: the first depicts the "Greek style" blessing Christ the Redeemer, the other is in turn divided into eight trapezoidal figures that surround the symbols of the four evangelists and on each of which there is a doctor of the Church of the East and the West opposed two by two. Particular is the hand represented on the heads of these doctors to represent the Almighty. The interior of the church, as the facade itself suggests, is divided into three naves by rows of columns without bases and with geometric capitals joined together by round arches.
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: completely rebuilt after a fire that broke out in 1922, it was built practically on the ancient Church of Peace, dedicated to the Annunciation and built at the end of the sixteenth century as a tangible sign of the reconciliation between the two enemy brotherhoods of the city, namely the Crusaders and the Trinitarians. It has an eighteenth-century bust of Saint Anne, the only statue that was saved from the fire of 1922.
Church of San Giorgio: The church dates back to the Middle Ages. The façade is gabled and there is an attempt to distinguish between the central nave and the side naves through two pillars with capitals. On the portal there is a lunette which proposes the theme of the cruciferous lamb decorated with floral ornaments. Perpendicular to the bezel, placed higher up, there is also a small funnel-shaped rosette.
Church of San Giovannello: The only information about the dating of the church is provided by the architrave above the access portal, which bears the date 1551, a cross and two figures in adoration. Ancient testimonies inform us that in 1764 the hill was used as a burial place, in view of a possible epidemic within the city. Over the centuries the church has been subjected to several dependencies: on the architrave of the facade there is the symbol of the church of Santa Maria della Croce dated 1846; subsequently it was part of the parish of the church of San Leonardo and San Giorgio
Church of San Giuseppe Artigiano: The parish was established on 8 December 1969 by decree of Msgr. Alberto Carinci, bishop of Campobasso. Designed by the engineer. Enrico Mandolesi was begun in 1972 and finished in 1974. The entrance has a staircase in Tivoli travertine and the glass entrance doors are protected by iron gates made up of sturdy pyramidal nails in memory of the nails of Christ's crucifixion.
Church of San Leonardo: The structural components of the church are from the end of the century. XIV: the portal, of Gothic inspiration, has little splay and is made up of jambs, pillars and smooth columns: the arches, with central spiral moulding, enclose the cruciferous lamb in the lunette. The single-lancet window on the left of the portal is Romanesque, outlined by intertwining branches and floral motifs.
Church of Santa Maria della Croce: Built in the Norman period by the faithful who formed the brotherhood of the "Crusaders", it underwent transformations following earthquakes which modified its original appearance. It has a fifteenth-century layout with a longitudinal Latin cross plan with three naves illuminated by a classical dome. The facade highlights, with its three portals, the basilica division of the interior. On the sides of the altar there are the Chapel of the Addolorata and that of the Sacred Heart, in which the nineteenth-century wooden statue of the Addolorata, of the Neapolitan school, and that of the Dead Christ rebuilt in plaster in 1954 are preserved.
Church of Santa Maria de Foras: We have news of the church and convent in the 14th century regarding the earthquake of 1348 and the movements of some abbots. The current church, completely rebuilt in the years 1969-1970, is of the same proportions as the previous one, as is the bell cast in Agnone in 1822. Inside, the statues of the Assumption and San Rocco are visible, both works by Paolo Saverio Di Zinno and the San Cristoforo by Emilio Labbate from 1890.
Church of Santa Maria della Libera: The church was incorporated into Palazzo San Giorgio, unfortunately it remains devoid of any sign on the external facade that recalls a sacred place. Tradition has it that the original monastery was built on the site by Saint Peter Celestine himself in 1290; it would later be expanded by the saint's disciple, the blessed Roberto da Salle. The church, whose façade was built in 1320, was seriously affected by the earthquake of 1805; Among so many ruins, only the wall in which the niche of the statuette of the Virgin was remained unharmed: an ancient wooden statue, rather small (109 cm high), with a slender body, a long neck, an oval face, and a faintly sweet smile. .
Church of Santa Maria di Loreto: is located in the Santo Stefano district: The current church of S. Maria di Loreto was built in 1890 and completed in 1922. It replaced the previous one, built in the 18th century and destroyed following the landslide of 1902. It contains a painting by an unknown artist depicting the Virgin of Sorrows and the statues of Our Lady of Sorrows, St. Stephen and St. Lucia plus a 15th century crucifix.
Church of Santa Maria Maggiore - Santa Maria del Monte: located at the Monforte Castle. The church of Santa Maria Maggiore, overlooking the Monforte castle, is the ancient Santa Maria del Monte. The first certain news of its existence dates back to 1354. It was built as a simple noble chapel dedicated to the Virgin and, over time, also used as a burial place for feudal families. In 1905 the church was entrusted to the Capuchin Fathers who still look after it today. The entire place of worship has been restored; the facade has a wall facing in Vinchiaturo stones with irregularly placed rough ashlars. Inside it has a valuable altar in polychrome marble. Particularly interesting is the statue of the SS. Virgin of 1334, devoutly venerated.
Church of Maria Mater Ecclesiae: The building for the homes of the religious and for social works began in 1975. The care was entrusted to the Marianist Fathers who had been tasked, since 1965, with taking care of the Vazzieri district in which no there was no building of worship. The place of worship has a semicircular shape and has the baptismal font in the center.
Church of San Paolo: The first church of San Paolo, still existing today, dates back to the 17th century and is located at the end of Viale del Castello. Built in a single nave, it was initially used to officiate mass for those inhabitants who had settled just outside the village or who lived in the area known as San Paolo and who did not want, especially during the winter period, to run the risk of tumbles on the access roads to the other churches located higher up in the town
Church of San Pietro: modern church from the 1960s, with a rectangular structure, from whose extreme right side the actual church rises, rising with a trapezoidal dome punctuated by ribs, and from which rises a small bell tower.
Church and convent of San Giovanni del Gelsi: 12th century church, restored in 1415, which was entrusted to the Blessed Giovanni da Stroncone, becoming one of the best-known convent centers in Molise. After closing at the behest of Murat, it was returned to the community of friars in 1892, and then closed again. In the 1900s it was reopened and restored. It has a baroque façade with a classical architrave, and a rectangular convent building, with a portico and internal cloister. Inside the church the Art Nouveau style is very strong, as it was restored in the early 1900s, being in a poor state of conservation.
Former church of San Mercurio: deconsecrated church of considerable interest, dating back to at least the 11th century. It has a single nave plan, with a gabled stone façade, decorated by a portal surmounted by a monolithic lunette and a central rose window. The interior is perfectly preserved in its Romanesque form, even if the presbytery wall is the result of numerous and completely uneven restorations.

 

Underground

The hypogea, created over the centuries by the work of man, represent a hidden reality of the ancient village. Much of the stone was quarried in order to build the buildings, so one can imagine the volumes existing underground. Following the catastrophic earthquake of 1456, Count Cola di Monforte designed the new city, with a defensive structure, providing it with double walls, interrupted by the gates that gave access to the village. He used the existing voids by connecting them to each other and making them functional to a military logic. A web of tunnels, a sort of "network" in medieval times that allowed rapid communication from multiple points. Among the photographed underground areas, there are some sections of the ancient walkway that allowed the garrisons to move quickly from one tower to another and from the surrounding walls to the upper part of the hill. The "Centro Storico" Association directs its research on this reliable hypothesis with the aim of retracing the legendary passage that allowed the final escape in the event of prolonged sieges.

Over the centuries the underground areas have undergone various uses: towards the end of the 15th century, with the expansion of the village and the establishment of the customs office following the edict of Ferrante d'Aragona, the flour, salt and of meats.

During the Second World War they were used by the population as anti-aircraft shelters.

In the 1960s some were used as discos and meeting places for young people, thanks to the size of the spaces and their natural acoustic insulation.

Subsequently they were completely abandoned and no longer used, in many cases becoming authentic landfills of building material following the renovations of the buildings on the surface. They are currently highly sought after to make them usable as pubs and restaurants.

 

Natural areas

These are the main green areas of the city:
Bosco Faiete
Garden of the Mario Pagano national boarding school
Piazza Bernardino Musenga (Villa of the Cannons)
Alessandro Manzoni Park
Eduardo De Filippo Park
Giuseppe Ungaretti Park
Memorial Park
Giuseppe Manente Music Park
Via Matris Park
Scarafone torrent park
San Giovannello pine forest

 

Villa De Capoa

The eighteenth-century "Villa De Capoa", restored with an accurate project, is one of the most evocative places in the city.

The park, adjacent to the former convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, was built in the sixteenth century by Andrea di Capua. For about two centuries it served as a reserve for the herbs that the monks of the convent used to create natural medicines. In the eighteenth century it was purchased by private individuals and reorganized into a real park. Finally, in the 19th century, Countess Marianna de Capoa donated it to the city.

The garden is Italian style, covering an area of almost 16,000 m². The main avenue runs from the entrance to a square; in it there are a fountain and a circular platform, used to stage shows. In other areas of the garden there is a hedge labyrinth and a rotunda bordered by four flowerbeds, in which sequoias were planted in 1929. To enrich the suggestive paths there are mythological sculptures, stone or hedge arches, a late 15th century sarcophagus, a well, stone benches and a cave. The main entrance, with the precious Art Nouveau wrought iron gate, overlooks Piazza Savoia.

The plant species present are varied and worthy of attention: tall sequoias, mighty cedars of Lebanon, elegant cypresses, spruces, fragrant lime trees continue to have a function that is not only ornamental: they are testimony to the culture, taste and art of those who created this jewel many years ago.

Inside the park there is a sports complex for playing tennis, with several indoor and outdoor courts, where from 2002 to 2012, every year, the international women's tennis tournament of the ITF Women's Tour circuit named "Regione Molise" was organized on whose prize ranged between $10,000 and $25,000; in 2011 it was won by the Italian Karin Knapp.

 

Geography

Territory

«The mountains around up to the sublime Maiella were arranged in rows; and their peaks, touching in appearance and by dubious lists scarcely distinguished, the immensity of the basins hinted at the Biferno del Trigno and the Sangro, in which so many other smaller valleys are suitable. Numerous hamlets, which in the foreshortening and which in the prospect, enlivened this scene, crowned Campobasso, except that the obscure woods and roofs were removed from the snow. "
(From the work "La Pace" by Michelangelo Ziccardi, 19th century.)

Campobasso is a city formed by an ancient part of medieval origin, rich in historical and artistic values, located on the slope of a hill dominated by the Monforte castle, and by a more modern and elegant part of the nineteenth century, located in the plain at the foot of the ancient center.

Around the castle that dominates the city, the historic center develops like a fan, consisting of alleys and long and winding stairways, on the sides of which there are stone houses and buildings, often with characteristic internal courtyards. There are numerous portals rich in decorations, coats of arms of noble families and allegorical figures.

The nineteenth-century city, called the Murattian center, extends flat and has the typical characteristics of the urban development of this historical period. Designed according to the ideal of the garden city, it has many green spaces and drinking fountains.

 

Climate

The climate of the city is of the Apennine type. In winter, during the freezing outbreaks from the Balkans, snowfalls occur caused by the Adriatic stau induced by the southern Samnite Apennines, which sometimes favor significant snow accumulations.

Summer is on average quite cool and, being a city of medium height, humidity is often relatively low; however, there are occasional phases of heat.

Autumn is cool and rainy, with an average of 81mm in November. The city has discrete pluviometric accumulations.