Macchia d'Isernia. Baronial castle D'Alena

2020

The castle occupies a substantial portion of the ancient circular village. It was built around 1100 by Clementina, daughter of Ruggero II Normanno, king of Sicily, when the fiefdom was part of the county of Ugone del Molise. The garrison passed into the hands of the Anjou, the Afflitto and the Rotondi barons. In 1480 it was restored in the Renaissance style as a patrician residence, purchased by Giovanni Donato della Marra, who was count of Macchia. In 1748 the castle was sold to Maria Grazia Rotondi, then sold to Nicola d'Alena. Celeste d'Alena was baroness of Macchia, married to the Frisari, counts of Bisceglie and patricians of Castel San Vincenzo. The façade of the building dominates the square in front of the village, embellished by a Renaissance loggia with round arches. The first part of this loggia dates back to the Aragonese period, with a roof resting on 5 small arches. The rest of the castle is spread over 3 levels, the highest of which is the attic. In the inner courtyard the beautiful Renaissance staircase with the colonnade, which leads to the noble floors, stands out. On the ground floor there are the cellars, the stables and the servants' rooms. The upper floor was the home of the nobles, with various rooms, including the private chapel with different relics. In 1984 the castle was fully restored, being brought back to its eighteenth-century splendor.

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Capracotta is an Italian town of 833 inhabitants in the province of Isernia, in Molise. It suffered great destruction during the Second World War and from the second half of the twentieth century it developed on the tourist level as a Molise ski resort together with Campitello Matese. Located at 1,421 meters above sea level, it is, from a geographical point of view, one of the highest areas of the Apennines as well as being the highest municipality in Molise. The town is located on the parallel 41 ½ and on the meridian of Castel dell'Ovo and extends between the countryside of Pescopennataro and Sant'Angelo del Pesco to the north, that of Agnone to the east, of Vastogirardi to the south and S. Pietro Avellana and Castel del Giudice. The highest point in the municipal area is the summit of Monte Campo at 1746 m a.s.l. Downstream of the town, towards the south, are the sources of the Verrino, a tributary of the river Trigno. Just outside the town, on the road to Pescopennataro, is the "Garden of Apennine Flora", a high altitude botanical garden that collects notable floral and tree species from central and southern Italy. Capracotta is an important climatic and ski resort. It has two important facilities: one for alpine skiing, in Monte Capraro, with a chairlift; the other for cross-country skiing in Prato Gentile: the latter facility was the site of the Absolute Italian Cross-Country Skiing Championships in 1997.

Roccasicura. Church of St. Leonard of Limoges

Founded by the Longobards, it has maintained the old appearance of a small chapel with a single nave. The portal retains its 12th century appearance with a simple arch and lunette.

Pesche, Molise. Panoramas

Panorama of Pesche, village in the province of Isernia, in Molise, perched along the steep slopes of Mount San Marco, a white spot against the green of the mountain and the gray of the stones.

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San Pietro Avellana (IS), eremo di S. Amico

Bagnoli del Trigno (IS)

Bagnoli del Trigno (Vagnuolë in molisano) è un comune italiano di 708 abitanti della provincia di Isernia in Molise. Le origini del paese sono ignote[3] e si fanno risalire a diverse leggende, secondo le quali Bagnoli sarebbe stata fondata in una da un Duca che si abbevera nelle acque del Trigno, in un'altra con la costruzione di agglomerati urbani intorno a una sorgente termale (Balneoli, da cui il nome) e infine da alcune tribù per trovare riparo dalle invasioni barbariche. Le prime notizie storiche risalgono al medioevo, quando il feudo era parte del Contado del Molise. Successivamente, dopo una serie di passaggi di proprietà anche tra signori francesi e spagnoli, diventa parte del Regno di Napoli e successivamente del Regno d'Italia. Con il novecento il paese ha visto un forte spopolamento a causa dell'emigrazione, soprattutto a Roma dove molti bagnolesi svolgono il lavoro di tassisti. Da uno studio effettuato dall'associazione "Forche Caudine" nel 2013 risulta che vivono più bagnolesi a Roma (circa un migliaio) rispetto ai residenti in paese.

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Molise - Pietracupa (CB)

Pietracupa è un comune italiano di 207 abitanti della provincia di Campobasso, in Molise. L'etimologia del nome è un composto di pietra, poiché costruito su un'enorme formazione calcarea, la "Morgia", e dell'aggettivo cupa, che in latino vuol dire "botte", in riferimento ai numerosi insediamenti rupestri ancora visibili in essa. È zona di villeggiatura estiva e di escursionismo.

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