BOJANO

(Redirected from Bovianum Undecumanorum)
'Bojano' or 'Boiano' is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Campobasso, Molise, southern Italy.

Contents

History

Main sights

Fractions

References

History

Originally named 'Bovianum', it was settled by the 7th century BC. As the capital of the Pentri Samnites, it played a major role in the Samnite Wars, as well as in the Social War, when it was a temporary capital (93 BC). It was sacked by Sulla.
It was colonized under both the triumvirates, and by Vespasian, who settled veterans of Legio XI ''Claudia'' (whence the name ''Bovianum Undecumanorum''), and remained an important centre into late antiquity.
After the Lombard conquest, the deserted area was given to a group of Bulgars and became a seat of a gastaldate. After two centuries marked by Saracen attacks, in the mid-11th century it was conquered by the Hauteville Normans, becoming a fief of Raoul de Moulins, a companion to Robert Guiscard. The city became a county capital.
The city was destroyed by a long series of earthquakes, the last occurring in 1913.

Main sights

Remains of Cyclopean walls remain on the heights above the modern town. Other attraction 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 portal.

★ The ''Hermitage of St. Egidius'', on a 1,025 m high mountain in the neighbourhood.

★ The remains of the ''Norman Castle''.

Fractions

Alifana, Campi Marzi, Castellone, Ciccagne, Chiovitti, Civita Superiore, Codacchio, Cucciolene, Fonte delle Felci, Imperato, Limpiilli, Majella, Malatesta, Monteverde, Pallotta, Pietre Cadute, Pinciere, Pitoscia, Pitti, Prusciello, Rio Freddo, Santa Maria dei Rivoli, Sant'Antonio Abate, Tilli Tilli.

References

★ De Benedittis, G. ''Bovianum ed il suo territorio'' (1977)

★ Official comune homepage
Piazzaroma.net Bojano's Community