Bojano or Boiano is a town and ''
comune'' in the
province of Campobasso,
Molise, south-central
Italy.
History
Originally named Bovianum, it was settled by the 7th century BC. As the capital of the
Pentri, a tribe of the
Samnites
The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy.
An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they for ...
, it played a major role in the
Samnite Wars, as well as in the
Social War, when it was a temporary capital (89 BC). It was sacked by
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force.
Sulla had ...
.
It was colonized under both the
triumvirates, and by
Vespasian, who settled veterans of
Legio XI ''Claudia'' (whence the name ''Bovianum Undecumanorum'', to distinguish it from Bovianum Vetus), and remained an important centre into
late antiquity.
After the
Lombard conquest, the deserted area was given to a group of
Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...
, who circa 662 fled from the Avars and sought refuge with the
Lombards. Bojano became a seat of a
gastaldate. The Bulgars also settled in nearby
Sepino and
Isernia.
Paul the Deacon
Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, s ...
in his ''
Historia Langobardorum'' writing after the year 787 says that in his time Bulgars still inhabited the area, and that even though they speak "Latin", "they have not forsaken the use of their own tongue".
In later times they had evidently become completely assimilated.
After two centuries marked by
Saracen attacks, in the mid-11th century Bojano was conquered by the
Hauteville Normans, becoming a fief of Raoul de Moulins, a companion to
Robert Guiscard
Robert Guiscard (; Modern ; – 17 July 1085) was a Norman adventurer remembered for the conquest of southern Italy and Sicily. Robert was born into the Hauteville family in Normandy, went on to become count and then duke of Apulia and Calabri ...
. The city became a county capital.
The city was destroyed by a long series of earthquakes, the last occurring in 1913.
Main sights
The remains of
Cyclopean walls can be seen on the heights above the modern town. Other attractions include:
*The ''Cathedral of St. Bartholomew'' (11th century), several times damaged by earthquakes. The apse is still in Norman style.
*The church of ''Sts. Erasmus and Marinus'', with a noteworthy
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
portal.
*The ''Hermitage of
St. Egidius
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...
'', on a mountain in the neighbourhood.
*The remains of the ''Norman Castle''.
Frazioni
Alifana, Campi Marzi, Castellone, Chiovitti, Ciccagne, Civita Superiore, Codacchio, Colacci, Collalto, Cucciolene, Fonte delle Felci, Imperato, Limpiilli, Majella, Malatesta, Monteverde, Mucciarone, Pallotta, Petrilli, Pietre Cadute, Pinciere, Pitoscia, Pitti, Prusciello, Rio Freddo, Santa Maria dei Rivoli, Sant'Antonio Abate, Taddeo, Tilli Tilli.
References
Sources
*
External links
Official website (in Italian)The Battles of Bovianum, 311 BC
Cities and towns in Molise
{{Molise-geo-stub