Campobasso is a city and comune in southern Italy, the capital of the Molise region and of the Province of Campobasso. It is located in the high basin of the Biferno river, surrounded by the Sannio and Matese mountains. Campobasso is renowned for the craftmanship of blades, a fact well documented since the 14th century. It is also famous for the production of pears and scamorza.
Main Sights:
The main attraction of Campobasso is the Castello Monforte, built in 1450 by the local ruler Nicola II Monforte, over Lombard or Norman ruins. The castle has Guelph merlons and stands on a commanding point, where traces of ancient settlements (including Samnite walls) have been found. The current construction is the result of later rebuildings after the earthquakes of 1456 and 1805.
Next to the castle is the Chiesa della Madonna del Monte (Santa Maria Maggiore), erected in the 11th century and rebuilt in 1525. It houses a precious wooden statue of the Incoronata from 1334. Below the castle, the church of St. George is probably the oldest in Campobasso, built around the year 1000 AD over the ruins of a Pagan temple.
The Cathedral, or Chiesa della Santissima Trinità (Church of the Holy Trinity), was built in 1504 outside the city walls. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1805 and a new Neoclassical edifice was built in 1829.
The church of San Bartolomeo is a Romanesque building from the 11th century, in limestone. The interior has a nave and two aisles.
San Leonardo (14th century) has a facade mixing Gothic and Romanesque elements, and a side mullioned window with vegetable decorations influenced by the Apulian architecture of the period.
Villa de Capoa, recently restored, is a noteworthy garden with statues and a wide variety of plant species, including sequoias, Norway Spruces, cypresses and Lebanon Cedars.
