Frosolone is a ''

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 ...

'' (municipality) 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 popu ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

Molise it, Molisano (man) it, Molisana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 ...

, located about west of

Campobasso Campobasso (, ; nap, label= Campobassan, Cambuàsce ) 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 Sa ...

and about east of

Isernia Isernia () or, in Pliny and later writers, ''Eserninus'', or in the Antonine Itinerary, ''Serni''. is a town and ''comune'' in the southern Italian region of Molise, and the capital of province of Isernia. Geography Situated on a rocky crest ...

. Frosolone is known historically for the production of blades, including

knives A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...

and scissors, and is home to a museum dedicated to the craft.

Geography

Frosolone borders the following municipalities: Carpinone, Casalciprano,

Civitanova del Sannio Civitanova del Sannio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Isernia in the Italian region Molise, located about northwest of Campobasso and about northeast of Isernia. Geography Civitanova del Sannio borders the following municipalit ...

, Duronia, Macchiagodena,

, Sant'Elena Sannita, Sessano del Molise, Torella del Sannio.

History

The region surrounding Frosolone was inhabited by members of the Sanniti and

Osci The Osci (also called Oscans, Opici, Opsci, Obsci, Opicans) were an Italic people of Campania and Latium adiectum before and during Roman times. They spoke the Oscan language, also spoken by the Samnites of Southern Italy. Although the lang ...

Italic tribes, which were conquered by the Romans during the

Samnite Wars The First, Second, and Third Samnite Wars (343–341 BC, 326–304 BC, and 298–290 BC) were fought between the Roman Republic and the Samnites, who lived on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains south of Rome and north of the Lucanian tribe. ...

. There are remnants of

cyclopean Cyclopean masonry is a type of stonework found in Mycenaean architecture, built with massive limestone boulders, roughly fitted together with minimal clearance between adjacent stones and with clay mortar or no use of mortar. The boulders typic ...

walls built by the Samnites, locally called "Civitelle." As the name implies, they were likely part of a small fortress destroyed by the Roman Army probably in 293 BC; the historian

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

describes in this area the march of two Roman armies, headed by

Spurius Carvilius Maximus Spurius Carvilius C. f. C. n., later surnamed Maximus, was the first member of the plebeian '' gens Carvilia'' to obtain the consulship, which he held in 293 BC, and again in 272 BC. Early career Born of equestrian rank, Carvilius served as curu ...

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 dictator. He was the most important Roman commander during the Se ...

. The first mention of the town's name is in a "diploma" dated 1064, by the Count of Isernia. The church of Santa Maria Assunta is of medieval origin. Its construction was completed probably in 1309, when it was cited for the first time in a notarial deed. On December 5, 1456, the church was totally destroyed by the

1456 Central Italy earthquakes On December 5, the largest earthquake to occur on the Italian Peninsula struck the Kingdom of Naples. The earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude of 7.19–7.4 , and nucleated near the town of Pontelandolfo in present-day Province of Beneve ...

which had an epicenter in Frosolone. Reconstruction work ended in 1531, when it was consecrated. Frosolone was victim to another earthquake on July 26, 1805, which destroyed most of the buildings in town and killed 518 people. In 1860, Frosolone was officially annexed by the Kingdom of Italy. In 1864 the Post Office was opened; in 1866 a kerosene public lighting system was installed at the then-large outlay of 4,000 lira.

Notable people

Dominic DeNucci Domenico A. Nucciarone (January 23, 1932 – August 12, 2021) was an Italian-American professional wrestler and trainer better known under his ring name of Dominic DeNucci. He held over a dozen championships around the world in the 1960s and 197 ...

, professional wrestler

References

Cities and towns in Molise {{Molise-geo-stub