Cantalupo nel Sannio is a town and ''
comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...
'' in the
province of Isernia
The province of Isernia ( it, provincia di Isernia) is a province in the region of Molise in 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 popul ...
, in the
Molise
Molise (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Neapolitan, Mulise) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise, alongside the region of Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effe ...
region of southern
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
History
The town was known simply as Cantalupo until February 4, 1864, when the denomination ''nel Sannio'' was added in order to differentiate it from other villages with the same name.
["Origini del Nome" on the ''Comunes site](_blank)
The specification of ''nel Sannio'' is derived from the fact that the village is located in the ancient territory of
Samnium
Samnium ( it, Sannio) is a Latin exonym for a region of Southern Italy anciently inhabited by the Samnites. Their own endonyms were ''Safinim'' for the country (attested in one inscription and one coin legend) and ''Safineis'' for the The lan ...
, which was inhabited by the Italic tribes known as the Samnites. The name Cantalupo is thought either to derive from the Greek "Kata-Lupon", meaning "in the middle of the woods", or from the
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
"Kan-Teleped", meaning "chief residence".
The latter explanation is favoured due to the well-established
Bulgar
Bulgar may refer to:
*Bulgars, extinct people of Central Asia
*Bulgar language, the extinct language of the Bulgars
* Oghur languages
Bulgar may also refer to:
*Bolghar, the capital city of Volga Bulgaria
*Bulgur, a wheat product
* Bulgar, an Ash ...
presence in the territory of Samnium going back at least to the 7th century.
Many Cantalupo's inhabitants emigrated to North America, Australia, South America, and other places following both the Great War and World War II. A substantial population of ''Cantalupesi'' settled in
Montreal, Quebec
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Anaconda, Montana
Anaconda, county seat of Deer Lodge County, which has a consolidated city-county government, is located in southwestern Montana, United States. Located at the foot of the Anaconda Range (known locally as the "Pintlers"), the Continental Divid ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, where they founded and still maintain the ''Associazione di Sant'Anna di Cantalupo'', named in honour of the village's patron saint,
Saint Anne
According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...
, Christ's maternal grandmother. She became Cantalupo's patron following
an earthquake on July 26, 1805 (which is the feast day of Saint Anne), that miraculously ended when the Saint's statue was taken out of the village church of San Salvatore.
External links
Official website
References
Cities and towns in Molise
{{Molise-geo-stub