Isernia () or, in
Pliny and later writers, ''Eserninus'', or in the
Antonine Itinerary
The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...
, ''Serni''. 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
southern Italian region of
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 ...
, and the capital of
province of Isernia.
Geography
Situated on a rocky crest rising from between the
Carpino
Carpino ( Pugliese: ) is a coastal town and ''comune'' of the Italian region of Apulia, lying on the Gargano peninsula.
The town's name has been linked to the rebirth of the traditional folk songs of Gargano, which have artistic value and deserv ...
and the
Sordo rivers, the plan of Isernia still reflects the ancient layout of the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
town, with a central wide street, the ''
cardo maximus
A cardo (plural ''cardines'') was a north–south street in Ancient Roman cities and military castra, camps as an integral component of city planning. The cardo maximus, or most often the ''cardo'', was the main or central north–south-oriented ...
'', still represented by Corso Marcelli, and side streets at right angles on both sides.
The commune of Isernia includes 16
frazioni
A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist era (1922–1943) as ...
. The most densely populated is Castelromano which is positioned in a plain at the base of the La Romana mount, elevation , from Isernia.
History
The area of Isernia was settled at least 700,000 years ago: the nearby site called ''Pineta'' has been cited in the magazine ''
Science
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
'' as the most ancient site where traces of use of fire by humans have been found.
The city's Roman name, ''Aesernia'', reflects probably a former
Samnite toponym, but a connection to an
Indo-European
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...
root, ''aeser'', which means "water", is tenuous.
![Fontana Fraterna (Isernia)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Fontana_Fraterna_%28Isernia%29.JPG)
Classical Aesernia was a city 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 ...
, included within the territory of the
Pentri tribe, situated in the valley of the Vulturnus (modern
Volturno
The Volturno (ancient Latin name Volturnus, from ''volvere'', to roll) is a river in south-central Italy.
Geography
It rises in the Abruzzese central Apennines of Samnium near Castel San Vincenzo (province of Isernia, Molise) and flows southeas ...
), on a small stream flowing into that river, and distant from Venafrum (modern
Venafro). The Itinerary (in which the name is written "Serni") places it on the road from
Aufidena
Alfedena ( la, Aufidena or Aufidenia, Abruzzese: ') is a ''comune'' in the province of L'Aquila of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is located in the Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park in the upper Sangro valley, near the Monti della ...
to
Bovianum, at the distance of from the former, and from the latter; but the former number is corrupt, as are the distances in the ''
Tabula Peutingeriana''.
The first mention of it in history occurs in 295 BC, at which time it had already fallen into the hands of the Romans, together with the whole valley of the Vulturnus. After the complete subjugation 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 ...
, a colony, with Latin rights (
colonia Latina
Colonia may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*Colonia (music group)
Colonia is a Croatian dance music duo from Vinkovci, Croatia. The band has released thirteen albums and over 35 singles to date with various songs and albums gaining platinum ...
) was settled there by the Romans in 264 BC the city, a key communication center between southern Italy and the inner Regions. This colony is again mentioned in 209 BC as one of the eighteen which remained faithful to Rome at the most trying period of the
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...
. During the
Social War it adhered to the Roman cause, and was gallantly defended against the Samnite general
Vettius Scato
''Vettius'' is a genus of skippers in the family Hesperiidae
Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separ ...
, by
Marcus Claudius Marcellus, nor was it till after a long protracted siege that it was compelled by famine to surrender, 90 BC. Henceforth it continued in the hands of the confederates; and at a later period of the contest afforded a shelter to the Samnite leader,
Gaius Papius Mutilus
Gaius Papius Mutilus was a Samnite noble who is best known for being the leader of the southern rebels who fought against the army of Rome in the Social War of 91-88 BC (also known as the Italic War); was member of the clan Variani/Varriano.Horn ...
, after his defeat by
Lucius Cornelius 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 t ...
. It even became for a time, after the successive fall of Corfinium (modern
Corfinio) and Bovianum, the headquarters of the
Italic League. At this time it was evidently a place of importance and a strong fortress, but it was so severely punished for its defection by Sulla after the final defeat of the Samnites in 88 BC, that
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
speaks of it as in his time utterly deserted.
We learn, however, that a colony was sent there by
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
, and again by
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
; but apparently with little success, on which account it was recolonized under
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
. It never, however, enjoyed the rank of a colony, but appears from inscriptions to have been a municipal town of some importance in the time of
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
and the
Antonines. To this period belong the remains of an
aqueduct and a fine Roman bridge, still visible; while the lower parts of the modern walls present considerable portions of polygonal construction, which may be assigned either to the ancient Samnite city, or to the first Roman colony. The modern city is still the
see of a bishop. The massively constructed podium now underlying the
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
probably supported the Capitolium.
In the early 7th century AD, what are today the communes of Isernia as well as
Bojano and
Sepino
Sepino is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Campobasso in the Italian region Molise, located about south of Campobasso.
The archaeological site of Saepinum is located nearby. Sepino borders the following municipalities: Cercemaggio ...
were the places where
Grimoald I of Benevento
Grimoald or Grimwald (c. 610 – 671) was a 7th-century King of Italy, ruling as Duke of Benevento from 647 to 662, and then as King of the Lombards of Sicily, Lombards from 662 until his death in 671.Chris Wickham, ''Early Medieval Italy: Centra ...
settled a group of Bulgars, seeking refuge from the Avars; the Bulgars were for many generations a distinctive part of the population, until finally assimilated in their Italian environment (see
Bulgarians in Italy
The Bulgarians in Italy are one of the sizable communities of the Bulgarian diaspora in Western Europe. There are about 120,000 Bulgarians in Italy according to the Bulgarian government. There are Bulgarian Orthodox parishes in Rome and Milan. Ma ...
,
Old Great Bulgaria#Bulgars in Southern Italy).
Even after the fall of the
Western Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
, Isernia has suffered destruction numerous times in history. Isernia was destroyed by the
Saracens
file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...
in 800, sacked by
Markward of Anweiler
Markward von Annweiler (died 1202) was Imperial Seneschal and Regent of the Kingdom of Sicily.
Biography
Markward was a ministerialis, that is, he came not from the free nobility, but from a class of unfree knights and administrators whose purp ...
, Count of Molise, in 1199, and set on fire in 1223 by the soldiers of
Frederick II. In 1519 it was freed from feudal servitude by
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (Crown of Castile, Castil ...
and became a city in the
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...
.
Earthquakes in 847, 1349,
1456
Year 1456 ( MCDLVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* May 18 – Second Battle of Oronichea (1456): Ottoman Forces of 15,000 are sent t ...
and
1805
After thirteen years the First French Empire abolished the French Republican Calendar in favour of the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January 11 – The Michigan Territory is created.
* February 7 – King Anouvong become ...
caused massive destruction.
On the morning of September 10, 1943, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
,
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
planes launched their bombs from
B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
planes over a crowded town on market day causing thousands of deaths. In the following weeks they came back twelve times without ever hitting their targets: the bridges of Isernia, Cardarelli and Santo Spirito, then built entirely of iron, towards the internal area. All the bridges were vital to the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
retreat.
In 1970 Isernia became the capital of the province of the same name, created out of part of the
province of Campobasso
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
.
Economy
The hills around Isernia produces red, white and
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...
''Pentro di Isernia'', an
Italian DOC wine. The grapes are limited to
harvest
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
yields of 11 tonnes/ha with the finished red and ''rose'' wines needing a minimum alcohol level of 11% and the finished whites required to have at least 10.5% alcohol. The reds and ''roses'' are composed of 45-55%
Montepulciano
Montepulciano () is a medieval and Renaissance hill town and ''comune'' in the Italian province of Siena in southern Tuscany. It sits high on a limestone ridge, east of Pienza, southeast of Siena, southeast of Florence, and north of Rome b ...
, 45-55%
Sangiovese
Sangiovese (, also , , ) is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin ''sanguis Jovis'', "the blood of Jupiter". Though it is the grape of most of central Italy from Romagna down to Lazio (the most widespread grape i ...
and up to 10% local
grape varieties
This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species including those unimportant to agriculture, see Viti ...
to fill out the blend if needed. The whites are composed of 60-70%
Trebbiano
Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it h ...
, 30-40%
Bombino bianco
Bombino bianco is a white Italian wine grape variety planted primarily along Italy's Adriatic coast line, most notably in Apulia. The vine is prone to high yields and often produces neutral flavor wines.J. Robinson ''Jancis Robinson's Wine Co ...
and up to 10% local varieties to fill out the blend if needed.
Coinage
The coins of Aesernia, which are found only in copper, and have the legend "AISERNINO", belong to the period of the first Roman colony; the style of their execution attests the influence of the neighboring
Campania
Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...
.
James Millingen James Millingen (18 January 1774 – 1 October 1845), was a Dutch-English archaeologist, now known as a numismatist.
Life
He was the second son of Michael Millingen, a Dutch merchant originally from Rotterdam and then from Batavia in the western N ...
, ''Numismatique de l'Italie'', p. 218.
Government
Main sights
![Isernia arco s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Isernia_arco_s.pietro.jpg)
Although having suffered repeated destruction, Isernia preserves a large number of archaeological remains. The historical center still keeps intact the spare map structure of the Roman cities: in fact it represents the largest raced Marcelli street, around which there is an infinity of alleys and little spares, as for example, "Trento e Trieste" spares. The famous Fraterna Fountain, the town's main symbol, was built in the 13th century: it is made up of living stone's slabs coming from ruined Roman monuments, while all the rest is a work of local masters, commissioned by the Rampini family of Isernia.
Religious sites
*
Isernia Cathedral of San Pietro
*Santa Maria delle Monache
*San Francesco
*Santa Chiara
*
Santi Cosma e Damiano
The basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano is a titular church in Rome, Italy. The lower portion of the building is accessible through the Roman Forum and incorporates original Roman buildings, but the entrance to the upper level is outside the Forum ...
*Chiesa della Concezione
*San Pietro Celestino
*San Giuseppe lavoratore
*Santa Maria Assunta
''Fontana Fraterna''
The “Fontana Fraterna” is a refined public fountain with six water jets, with an unusual arcade-shape, made of blocks of calcareous, compact stone. It is built of Roman and Romanesque materials, and had been restored in 1835.
The fountain has articulated into three fillets laid one upon the other. From below, there is a series of smooth fillets (the one on the left is a Roman-epoch and fragmentary epigraph with the letters AE PONT, while in the centre there is a mat decorated with dolphins and a Roman-age flower, probably coming from a sepulchral building), then there is a median fillet with a series of six round arches supported, on the left side, by little circular columns and on the right side, by little octagonal columns.
Above these columns there are some capitals of re-employment. Two capitals have trapezoidal-plant abacus and perhaps adorned a window splay. The higher fillet presents a line of smooth ashlars on which twelve little hanging arches set, supported by little brackets adorned with zoomorphic, phytomorphic and geometric motives. On the bottom of the fountain, on a second level in respect to the arcade, you can distinguish two blocks of Roman age with some swags and a funerary epigraph dedicated to the god Mani. On its right side there is a third high-mediaeval epigraph, situated between two lion statues, referring to the building of a fountain. A deep study of the surfaces allows to verify that the blocks were worked on several occasions, with an extremely long interval, and that come from an undefined number of buildings of the town. Therefore, the handiwork represents an interesting abacus of workings, decorative elements, an exemplar of material culture with centuries of town history written on.
La Pineta
Isernia La Pineta is an archaeological
excavation site containing thousands of bones and stone tools covering . It was discovered in 1979, by an amateur naturalist who noticed a bone sticking out of the side of a cut that had been created by the construction of the
Napoli-Vasto motorway. The site was clearly created by humans, but its purpose is still unknown. The man who lived there was called ''Homo Aeserniensis''.
[Novaresio, Paolo (1996). ''The Explorers''. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, NY p. 14 "In 1979 an amateur naturalist was passing the construction site for the Napoli-Vasto motorway ... object protruding from a wall ... thousands of bones and stone tools piled up in an area of over 24,000 square yards. ... Evidence of human activity is incontrovertible"]
See also
*
F.C. Isernia
Isernia Football Club, shortened as Isernia, is an Football in Italy, Italian association football club based in the city of Isernia, Molise. The club currently plays in Serie D. Their nickname is "pentri" (this is the name of most important tribe ...
Notes
Footnotes
References
*
Richard Stillwell, ed. ''Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites'', 1976:Aesernia (Isernia), Abruzzi e Molise, Italy"
External links
Isernia official websitemolisediscovery.com
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Molise
Archaeological sites in Molise
Samnite cities