Church of Santa Maria Maggiore
The Church of Santa Maria Maggiore was built as a church belonging to the Monforte Castle of Campobasso. Inside there is the statue of the Madonna dei Monti, venerated by the citizens as the protector of the city, together with the patron Saint Giorgio. The Infiorata is dedicated to her every year, on May 31st, is made a carpet with flower petals that covers the streets on which her statue is carried in procession. The church is decorated with frescoes by local artist Amedeo Trivisonno, depicting the life of Mary and the Mysteries of the Rosary.
Viale delle Rimembranze, 45 Campobasso - Italy/Campobasso/Molise
Tourist experience: Participation to Infiorata event that is dedicated to Madonna dei Monti and live the experience with the locals.
Spoken languages: Italian
Experience duration: all day long
Booking: No booking required
20-40 min by walk from the nearest accommodation, car parking or bus station
Accessibility: The building is accessible by a ramp
Cultural material heritage: Church, Monastery, sanctuary
Cultural immaterial heritage: Religious cult, Local traditions or legend
Natural heritage: Hills, Flora, SIC Area (site of community interest)
Hidden tangible patrimony: Landscapes
Hidden intangible patrimony: Local customs
Experiences: Showing around, Religious itinerary
Form filler: Nella Rescigno
Church of Sant’Antonio Abate
The Church of Sant'Antonio Abate is located outside one of the six gateways through the ancient walls of the city. It’s the most representative religious building of Baroque art in Campobasso, thanks to the four carved, gold-plated, wooden altars which are located on the sides of the central nave. There are also many paintings from the Neapolitan school of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, for example "San Benedetto e l’ossesso" from Francesco Guarini, located on the homonymous altar. There are two wooden sculptures of particular value, the first one, datable to the Sixteenth Century, represents S. Antonio Abate, covered of pure gold. The other, that represents San Francesco d’Assisi, from the famous local sculptor Paolo Saverio Di Zinno, was realized in the middle of the Eighteenth Century.
Via Sant'Antonio Abate Campobasso - Italy/Campobasso/Molise
Tourist experience: The visit offers the opportunity to appreciate the influence and the quality of Neapolitan’s Seventeenth-Century art even in a small center of the Naples Kingdom. Besides that, it allows to the visitor to understand the dynamics of the urban development of the city thanks to the closeness to one of the ancient gate access to the walls, which is called Porta di Sant'Antonio Abate. This area is characterized by the presence of the Roma community that lives permanently in the city since many decades and that still has its typical lifestyle although it’s well integrated with the neighbors.
Spoken languages: Italian
Experience duration: Almost 30 minutes
Opening: The church opens on the public holiday days, according to the Mass celebration
Booking: No booking required
Less than 20 min by walk from the nearest accommodation, car parking or bus station
Accessibility: Accessible to everyone
Cultural material heritage: Church
Cultural immaterial heritage: Religious cult, Local traditions or legend
Hidden intangible patrimony: Local customs
Experiences: Popular tradition (Sant'Antonio's Bonfire on the 17th of January)
Form filler: Nella Rescigno
Monuments of Gabriele Pepe and Flora
Villa Flora is the small tree-lined square with oaks and cedars that characterizes Piazza Pepe. In the center there is a fountain, inaugurated in 1873, with a small basin on which a statue depicting Venus is placed (although the population has the custom to identify it with Flora, goddess of Spring, flowers and flowering) work made by the sculptor Giuseppe Prinzi. With the restoration in 1921, the garden became a representative place of Art Nouveau in Campobasso thanks to the inclusion of Art Nouveau urban furniture, elegant railings and wrought iron benches characterized by the slight curved movement of the metal and made by the Tucci family.
A funny joke invented by the citizens of Campobasso who imagined a dialogue between the statues of Gabriele Pepe (local historical character) and Venere. The statues in fact are placed in front of each other with their iconographic pose and this helps to imagine Gabriele to be kindly refused in an attempt to woo Flora. The dialogue in dialect is known to everyone.
Piazza Gabriele Pepe Campobasso - Italy/Campobasso/Molise
Tourist experience: The tale is pleasant and allows to enter in the spirit of Campobasso and its vernacular language.
Spoken languages: Italian, local dialect
Experience duration: ten minutes
Opening: Public place always open
Booking: No booking required
Less than 20 min by walk from the nearest accommodation, car parking or bus station
Accessibility: Public square with no accessibility limitations
Cultural material heritage: Historical monument
Cultural immaterial heritage: Legendary or historical persona or character
Hidden intangible patrimony: Community tales
Experiences: Showing around
Form filler: Michele Fratino
Museum of Misteri
Misteri are structures made in tempered iron and assembled on wooden bases on which people, mostly children, are placed to represent angels, devils, scenes from the life of saints and sacred figures of Christianity. These structures are carried on men’s shoulders during the parade that takes place on Corpus Domini’s day. While waving, the structures give the sensation that the children who interpret the sacred figures are flying over the heads of the spectators.
Via Trento, 3 Campobasso - Italy/Campobasso/Molise
Tourist experience: The Museum consists of two exhibition rooms and a projection room.
In the "Entrance Hall" some costumes are exhibited along with photographs, variously dated, which portray some highlights of past events and catalogues with the names of the most famous characters who have animated the parade in the last 40 years.
The "Projection Room" with 40 seats, allows you to view footage of the Processione dei Misteri, shot in various years, relating to the preparation and development of the event and capable of recreating the atmosphere that is lived in Campobasso on the day of Corpus Domini.
Inside the "Sala degli Ingegni" it is possible to see in detail the thirteen structures that parade in procession through the streets of Campobasso on the day of Corpus Domini, thus discovering the structural and artistic peculiarities that make them unique in the world.
Spoken languages: Italian
Experience duration: 1 hour
Opening: Mon. to Fri.
From 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Booking: Booking only required on non-working days or for visits during non-opening hours
Less than 20 min by walk from the nearest accommodation, car parking or bus station
Accessibility: No limitations to access
Tourist contact: Associazione Misteri e Tradizioni
Cultural material heritage: Museum
Cultural immaterial heritage: Historical itinerary, Religious cult, Local traditions or legend, Handicrafts (such as embroidery, carving), Cultural heritage
Hidden tangible patrimony: Family photos related to particular events/occasions (e.g. photos of leisure time related to the place, feasts: the images should not have not been used before)
Hidden intangible patrimony: Local customs
Experiences: Showing around, guided tours
Form filler: Michele Fratino
Venerdì Santo (Good Friday) Procession
The Venerdì Santo (Good Friday) procession in Campobasso is one of the most evocative religious events in Molise. Established in 1626, it was called "Il Mortorio" in the pact of concord between Crusaders and Trinitarians, when, starting at dawn from the Church of Santa Maria della Croce, it wound through the narrow-scaled streets of the old city. Today the function begins at 3 pm and the procession starts moving at 5 pm starting from the same Church, parading first in the streets of the old town and then arriving in the most modern part of the city. The statues of the Dead Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows are followed by a choir of about seven hundred people who sings several times the dramatic song "Teco Vorrei o Signore", composition of the early twentieth century by the local compositor Michele De Nigris on verses by Pietro Metastasio.
Via Santa Maria della Croce, 16 Campobasso - Italiy/Campobasso/Molise
Tourist experience: Participate in the procession by joining the parade or appreciate as external users the event from different points of the city between the old town and the modern area.
Spoken languages: Italian
Experience duration: Two hours
Opening: Good Friday (the Friday before Easter), 5 pm
Booking: No booking required
Less than 20 min by walk from the nearest accommodation, car parking or bus station
Accessibility: The procession takes place between the streets of the city and is accessible to all.
Cultural material heritage: Historical centre, Church
Cultural immaterial heritage: Religious cult, Local traditions or legend, Cultural heritage, historical procession
Hidden intangible patrimony: Local customs
Experiences: Showing around, Religious itinerary
Form filler: Nella Rescigno