Agnone (
Neapolitan: ''Agnèune'') is a ''
comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' in the
province of Isernia
The province of Isernia () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Molise region of Italy. The provincial capital is the city Isernia and the president of the province is Alfredo Ricci. The province of Isernia has an area of and a population o ...
, in the
Molise
Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...
region of southern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, some northwest of
Campobasso
Campobasso (, ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Molise and of the province of Campobasso. It is located in the high basin of the Biferno river, surrounded by Sannio and Matese mountains.
Campobas ...
. Agnone is known for the manufacture of bells by the
Marinelli Bell Foundry. The town of Agnone proper is complemented by other populated centres like Fontesambuco, Villa Canale and Rigaini.
History
Samnites
The
Samnites
The Samnites () were an ancient Italic peoples, Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy.
An Oscan language, Oscan-speaking Osci, people, who originated as an offsh ...
comprised several distinct tribes in Samnium, a wholly inland district of south-central Italy named after them. The
Pentri tribe of the Samnites was the most powerful and based in
Bovianium, which was a city some south of present Agnone. Agnone is in the centre of important archaeological vestiges of the old Oscan-Samnite civilization and has been called "the Athens of the Sannio" due to the large number of ancient ruins of the Samnite culture.
[''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography''. William Smith, LLD. London. Walton and Maberly, Upper Gower Street and Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row; John Murray, Albemarle Street. 1854.] According to tradition, the name of Agnone derives from the old city of Aquilonia that was destroyed by the Romans.
[ The Samnites were soundly defeated by the consuls Carvilius and ]Lucius Papirius Cursor
Lucius Papirius Cursor (c.365–after 310 BC) was a celebrated politician and general of the early Roman Republic, who was five times consul, three times magister equitum, and twice Roman dictator, dictator. He was the most important Roman command ...
in 293 B.C. Papirius, after making himself master of Aquilonia, which he burnt to the ground, proceeded to besiege Saepinum, on his way to Bovianum.
Agnone also lays claim to the most important ancient document found in Molise
Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...
, the so-called " Oscan Tablet" ("Tabula Osca"), an inscription written in Oscan
Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian and South Picene.
Oscan was spoken by a number of t ...
on a bronze tablet and dated to the 3rd century BC, now in the British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
. The small bronze tablet was discovered in 1848 at Fonte di Romito, between Capracotta and Agnone, near the river Sangro. It provides an example of the most southerly dialect of the Samnite language. The tablet speaks of a series of dedications to different deities or holy beings
Romans
During the Roman Period, Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
was spread to Molise. Agnone appears on Roman maps under different regions at various times as Aprutium, Picenum, Sabina et Samnium, Flaminia et Picenum and/or Campania et Samnium. The Roman penchant for building seems to have passed Agnone over as Samnitic architecture still prevailed.
Medieval
Agnone was an important centre during the rule of the Lombards
The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774.
The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...
, but was then left decaying in the centuries immediately preceding 1000, while the Verrino Valley and surrounding hills became a place of hermitages, monasteries, and small agricultural colonies. In 1139, the powerful Borrello family, supported by soldiers of fortune from Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
, probably originating from the Dalmatian colonies of the "Serenissima" took control of Agnone. The importance of Agnone grew during the Angevin and also in the Aragonese reigns to the point that during the reign of the Bourbons of the Two Sicilies, the city was among the 56 royal towns that reported directly to the King, and was free from any other type of feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
subjection. Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph Bonaparte (born Giuseppe di Buonaparte, ; ; ; 7 January 176828 July 1844) was a French statesman, lawyer, diplomat and older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte. During the Napoleonic Wars, the latter made him King of Naples (1806–1808), an ...
decided to create the region Molise, which was to exclude Agnone, but during the reign of Joachim Murat
Joachim Murat ( , also ; ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the ...
, the elders of Agnone asked and obtained the transition to Molise, basing the request on the geographical difficulties of the links to Abruzzo
Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...
, and hoping to rise to a new role for the small region. During this period, the natural resources surrounding Agnone impacted its economy where skilled craftsmen produced gold jewellery, copperware, watches, and bells.
Post-Unification
Agnone suffered a significant decline in the years following the Unification of Italy
The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...
in the 1860s. In 1884, the local newspaper ''L'Aquilonia'' reviewed the causes of emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
of peasants from Agnone and concluded that the two main factors were excessive taxes on consumers' goods and usurious interest rates that at times surpassed 20 percent in the town. The peasants were arrested for stealing the crops of the ''galantuomini'' ("gallant men" or ruling class), and a particularly frequent crime was the illegal cutting of timber on the town commons. In 1863, for example, the authorities actually prosecuted 624 cases of illegal felling of trees.
Consequently, when by the 1870s, owing to improvements in sea travel, a lowering of fares, and the expansive nature of the economies of both the United States and the Rio de la Plata region of southern South America, transatlantic emigration became a viable alternative, the lower classes of Agnone were, out of a sense of desperation, prime candidates. Politically alienated by decades of unfulfilled promises of land reform, mired in endemic poverty, dependent on a rapacious class of galantuomini for what was, by any yardstick, a meagre existence, the peasantry was further squeezed by relentless population increase throughout the first seven decades of the 19th century.
World War II to present
When Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
's fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
regime came to power, they effectively put a stop to Italy's out-migration.[Ortona: Canada's Epic World War II Battle By Mark Zuehlke] During the Fascist era, Agnone was the site of a fascist internment camp administered and operated by the province of Campobasso
The province of Campobasso (; ) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Molise region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Campobasso. It covers an area of and has a total population of 223,871 (2017). There are 84 ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in ...
. It first held only male "enemy subjects", which included British, Czech, and Slovakian nationals, as well as German and Austrian Jews. It was later changed to a camp for men and women Romani people from Yugoslavia. Many opponents of the fascists were sent here, including Don Raimondo Viale, the protagonist of "The Just Priest" by Nuto Revelli. The Germans sat up a concentration camp in Molise for gypsies where Father Viale tried to help them. The War would finally reach Agnone in December 1943, as the Allied Forces would land on Italy's Adriatic coast and make their way northward and westward to Rome. The 1st Canadian Infantry Division would drive the Germans and Fascists out of Molise, and on 2 and 3 December, the West Nova Scotia Regiment would billet in Agnone during the Ortona offensive.
After the war, Agnone's out-migration issues continued, although more for reasons of economic availability. As international emigration declined, southern Italians migrated to industrial northern Italy for more promising economic prospects.[The South Italian Family: a Critique. Journal of Family History 1980; 5; 338 William A. Douglass] Presently, Agnone's population is still declining. As Molise is starting to find recognition as a tourist destination, Agnone is marketing itself on the agritourism
Agritourism or agrotourism involves any agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. It encompasses a wide range of activities, including direct-to-consumer sales such as farm stands and u-pick, agricultu ...
market and for its unique Pre-Roman and Medieval architecture.
Main sights
Medieval sights
The town's medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...
-style architecture is reflected in its nineteen churches, including the Church of San Marco, with a large Renaissance portal embellished by a copper lion. In the 11th century, Odorisio and Gualtiero Borrello introduced the cult of Saint Mark and brought artists from Venice to decorate their homes with Saint Mark's lion. This church is adorned with great artwork including: rich altars, a painting of a ''Holy Family and Saints'' by Luca Giordano; an ostensory in gilded copper and enamel, by Giovanni da Agnone, a disciple of Nicola da Guardiagrele. The church of Sant'Antonio Abate has a Romanesque portal and a 17th-century bell tower, and on the vault inside a giant fresco by Francesco Palumbo. Sant'Emidio has a 12th-century portal and rich works of art including wooden painted statues that are taken out on Good Thursday and Friday for a re-enactment of the Last Supper. The church of Corso Garibaldi is sided by ancient houses with stone lions near the doors (the lion is on Agnone coat of arms), ancient artisans' workshops, Apollonio house and the Nuonno house. Church of San Francesco displays a giant round window over the portal, dated 1330. Inside, the ''Final Judgment'' on the vault is painted by Gambora.
The Church of San Nicola has a peculiar bell tower coated with yellow and green ceramic tiles. It is due to Agnone's craftsmen and medieval architecture that the town adopted the nickname ''Città d'Arte'' (City of Art) which the town uses on a promotional basis.
Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli
The Pontificia Fonderia Marinelli (the Marinelli Pontifical Foundry) is an ancient factory of bells which has been operating in Agnone for nearly a millennium. It ranks as one of the oldest companies in the world, where the Marinelli family has run the foundry for the last 1000 years.
This factory has a museum, where bells of almost a thousand years of antiquity to more recent others are displayed. It is also possible to observe the artisan process of the manufacturing of bells. The factory was visited by the Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
in 1995 as many of the foundry's bells can be found at the Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
.
Geography
Agnone lies on a rocky spear in the mountainous regions of Molise (Alto Molise). Farms and country houses surround the city at elevations varying from above sea level of the Verrino River bed to at Monte Castelbarone. The Sangro River also passes by Agnone.
Its geographic position has been described as "the natural capital of the Alto Molise". Its territorial extension covers made up of forests, pastures and agriculture land.
From a geomorphological point of view, the area is affected by several landslides. For example, in January 2003, a huge landslide occurred in the municipality of Agnone causing important damage to infrastructures.
Culture
On Christmas Eve Agnone holds the "''Carnevale Agnonese''", including the '' Ndocciata'', which is a huge torchlight parade of thousands of handmade, wooden torches made into nine different quarters ("borgate"), accompanied by the sound of bagpipes, to the Piazza Plebiscito where a brotherhood bonfire is lit.
The ''Fiera delle Arti e Mestieri Antichi'' (Arts and Antique Crafts Fair) is held from 17 to 19 August where a large area of the old town home to artisans, display their works. Artisan crafts at the fair generally include goldsmiths, tinkers, tanners, wrought-iron, lace and embroidery.
Notable people
* Saint Francis Caracciolo: Confessor, co-founder of the Congregation of the Minor Clerks Regular, born Abruzzo, Italy, 1563; died Agnone, Italy, 1608. He went to Naples in 1585 to study theology, and was ordained in 1587. He collaborated with John Augustine Adorno in drawing up rules for the Congregation, which was approved by Pope Sixtus V, in 1588. Chosen general at Naples, in 1593, he established houses in Rome, Madrid, Valladolid, and Alcala. Relics at Naples and San Lorenzo in Lucina, Rome. Canonized, 1807. Feast, Roman Calendar, 4 June.
* Ippolito Franconi (1593–1653) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Nocera de' Pagani (1632–1653).
References
{{authority control
Cities and towns in Molise
Italian fascist internment camps in Italy