Poggio Sannita (IS)

Colli a Volturno (Cuòglië in Molise) is an Italian town of 1 312 inhabitants in the province of Isernia in Molise. The municipal territory extends into the Volturno Valley on the border with the national park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise. Colli a Volturno (also called simply Colli), rises on three wooded hills, at an altitude of about 400 m a.s.l. (max. 1 013, min. 236 a.s.l.). The municipal area borders the municipalities of Fornelli, Rocchetta a Volturno, Montaquila, Scapoli, Cerro al Volturno, Macchia d'Isernia, Filignano and Monteroduni. The Collese area, as the name suggests, is mainly hilly interspersed with wide flat spaces. The climate is mild, the average annual temperature is 18.2 ° C, the average rainfall is 862 mm. Summers are warm and temperate, winters are cold but not particularly harsh, sporadic snowfalls, exceptionally abundant those of February 1956, January 1985 and February 2012. In autumn, rainfall is abundant, in August, the hottest month. of the year, the average temperature is 22.4 ° C; in August 2017, an exceptional heat wave caused the mercury column to reach 43 ° C. January is the coldest month, with an average temperature of 5.4 ° C. The driest month is July with an average of 32mm of rain. The month of November is the one with the highest rainfall, having an average of 118 mm. Gusts of wind are not infrequent, even of particular intensity. Temperatures vary by around 17 ° C throughout the year.

Cerro al Volturno (Cièrrë in Molise) is an Italian town of 1 194 inhabitants in the province of Isernia in Molise, about 20 km from the border with Abruzzo. The municipality is also simply called Cerro because of its territory rich in oak woods, among which the Cerro, Quercus cerris, stands out. The Cerrese territory is on the border with the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise. The climate is mainly of the Apennine type: cool and rainy autumn, cold and snowy winter and mild summer. The town was founded by the Samnites (III century BC), of which fortifications remain at Mount Santa Croce. In medieval times the hill of the present village was colonized by peasants (9th century), since the fiefdom depended on the nearby Abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno. The origin of the community itself is linked to the influence of the abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno, one of the oldest Benedictine monasteries in the Kingdom of Naples and in the land of San Pietro, together with Montecassino and Farfa. Cerro already existed since 899, as evidenced in the Chrnicon Vulturnense, when Roffredo, abbot of San Vincenzo led the first peasant colony to cultivate the lands in the place of Cerrum, from the name of the oak trees. The 11th century Norman castle was later owned by the Filangieri, Borrello and Cantelmo di Popoli family, until the 15th century, when it passed to the Pandone family, who renovated it extensively. In the following centuries the feud belonged to various families, including the Carafa. In 1811 the village passed to the territory of Benevento, and only in 1861 was it included again in Molise, first linked to the territory of Piedimonte Matese, and then to the area of Castellone Volturno, i.e. Castel San Vincenzo. Since 1970 it has been part of the province of Isernia.

Of Benedictine architecture, between the 13th and 14th centuries the Sanctuary, which is flanked by a monastery, represents a complex of very significant religious importance.

The Benedictine Abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno is located about two kilometers from the sources of the river of the same name, in a favorable position on the fertile Piana di Rocchetta, defended by the Mainarde and Meta ranges to the west and the Matese massif to the south. On the affairs of the monastery we are informed by the Chronicon Vulturnense, an illuminated manuscript written in 1130 by a monk named Giovanni, who had in turn used internal sources of the VIII-XI century monastery. According to the Chronicon, the foundation dates back to the beginning of the 8th century and was due to three nobles from Benevento, Paldo, Taso and Tato, and to their search for a place to devote themselves to the ascetic life. The chosen area was frequented in late Roman times as shown by the remains of a church and a sepulchral area from the 5th-6th century AD

Pescopennataro è un comune italiano di 269 abitanti della provincia di Isernia in Molise. Fino al 1790 è stato parte integrante del Giustizierato d'Abruzzo e dell'Abruzzo Citeriore del Regno di Napoli e del Regno delle Due Sicilie. La porta arcuata medievale, detta "Porta di sopra". Mediante questa si accede alla chiesa madre. La chiesa di San Bartolomeo apostolo (1654), ricostruita nel XX secolo dopo le distruzioni delle guerre mondiali. Di particolare interesse sono l'altare maggiore con l'annesso tabernacolo in legno, i 6 altari minori laterali, un pulpito dello stesso materiale del tabernacolo, un organo da chiesa ed una originale acquasantiera. La chiesa della Madonna delle Grazie. L'Eremo di San Luca, situato nel bosco e nel territorio del comune di Sant'Angelo del Pesco. La fontana di Piazza del Popolo, opera dell'architetto De Lallo. Il Museo della Pietra "Chiara Marinelli". Il Belvedere del Guerriero Sannita.

Mother church of San Bartolomeo Apostolo. Formerly dedicated to S. Maria Assunta in cielo. Its shape is a Latin cross, with three naves separated by two rows of columns.