Castropignano

Castropignano is a picturesque medieval village of about 1,000 inhabitants in the province of Campobasso, perched on a rocky ridge, at 612 meters above sea level, from which it looks over the valley of the Biferno river. The origins of the town go back many centuries: the remains of stone walls date from the 4th century BC and confirm the presence on site of a Samnite fortress. The ruins of two villas found downstream of the town are, however, testimony to the subsequent Roman invasion.

3 km from the town is the hamlet of Roccaspromonte, a spectacular village perched on a panoramic rocky ridge. It was here that in 1777 a terracotta statue of Athena dating from the 5th century BC was found, now on display in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

In Castropignano it is possible to visit the fourteenth-century church of Santa Maria della Pietà with a beautiful contemporary portal and the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Peschio, a beautiful open-air church, whose dome is the sky and the walls are the oak trees of the nearby forest. The historic centre has the characteristics of the medieval village: through a maze of alleys that climb towards the top of the hill, you will find the bell tower and the remnants of the baronial clock tower.