Agnone
| Agnone | ||
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| Comune | ||
| Città di Agnone | ||
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 Agnone
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| Coordinates: 41°48′36″N 14°22′44″E / 41.81000°N 14.37889°E | ||
| Country | Italy | |
| Region | Molise | |
| Province / Metropolitan city | Isernia (IS) | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Lorenzo Marcovecchio | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 96 km2 (37 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 850 m (2,790 ft) | |
| Population (31 December 2014) | ||
| • Total | 5,125 | |
| • Density | 53/km2 (140/sq mi) | |
| Demonym(s) | Agnonesi | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Postal code | 86081 | |
| Dialing code | 0865 | |
| Patron saint | San Cristanziano | |
| Website | Official website | |
Agnone is a comune in the province of Isernia, in the Molise region of southern Italy. Agnone is known for the manufacturing of bells by the Marinelli Bell Foundry. It is some 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of Campobasso. The town of Agnone proper is complemented with other populated centers like Fontesambuco, Villa Canale and Rigaini.
The pre-Roman Samnites consisted of several distinct tribes who existed in Samnium which was a wholly inland district of south central Italy. The Pentri tribe of the Samnites was the most powerful and based in Bovianium, which was a city some 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of present Agnone. Agnone is in the center of important archaeological vestiges of the old Oscan-Samnite civilization and is sometimes called “the Athens of the Sannio” due to the large number of ancient ruins of the Samnitic culture. According to the tradition, the name of Agnone derives from the old city of Aquilonia that was destroyed by the Romans. The Samnited were annihilated at the time of Sulla by the consuls Carvilius and Lucius Papirius Cursor in 293 B.C. Papirius, after making himself master of Aquilonia, which he burnt to the ground, proceeded to besiege Saepinum, on his way to Bovianum.
Agnone also lays claim to the most important ancient Molise document: the so-called "Oscan Tablet" (“Tabula Osca”), a bronze inscription written in the Oscan alphabet that dates from the 3rd century BC and now kept in the British Museum. The Samnites spoke Oscan and knowledge of the Oscan language is furnished on this small bronze tablet, which was discovered at Fonte di Romito, between Capracotta and Agnone in 1848. The place of discovery was near the river Sagrus or Sangro; this inscription is an example of the most southerly dialect of the Samnite language. The tablet speaks of a series of dedications to different deities or holy beings
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Wikipedia