Castropignano
| Castropignano | ||
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| Comune | ||
| Comune di Castropignano | ||
Castello d'Evoli by night
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 Castropignano
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| Coordinates: 41°37′N 14°34′E / 41.617°N 14.567°ECoordinates: 41°37′N 14°34′E / 41.617°N 14.567°E | ||
| Country | Italy | |
| Region | Molise | |
| Province / Metropolitan city | Campobasso (CB) | |
| Frazioni | Roccaspromonte | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Margherita Brunetti | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 27.0 km2 (10.4 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 590 m (1,940 ft) | |
| Population (2007) | ||
| • Total | 1,079 | |
| • Density | 40/km2 (100/sq mi) | |
| Demonym(s) | Castropignanesi | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| Postal code | 86010 | |
| Dialing code | 0874 | |
| Website | www.castropignano.com | |
Castropignano is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Campobasso in the Italian region Molise, located about 10 kilometres (6 mi) northwest of Campobasso.
It is home to a medieval castle, the Castello d'Evoli, built in the mid-14th century, perhaps over the remains of a Samnite fortress.
Castropignano is a small town situated at an elevation of 620 metres (2,030 ft) above sea level in the Molise region in the Province of Campobasso. Because of its elevation it is often referred to as the "Balcony Over The Biferno River Valley". From the town one could see a picturesque panoramic view of the surrounding towns and hillsides. For comparison purposes, the Niagara Region is at an approximate elevation of 180 metres (600 ft) above sea level and thousands of miles from the sea, while Castropignano at an elevation of 620 metres (2,034 ft) is less than 32 kilometres (20 mi) from the sea.
The history book written by Raffaele Sardella states that the beginning of Castropignano occurred during the Iron Age (1000 BC) when two tribes occupied two hills because it provided better defense and security. The two initial tribes occupied the hills that are now called "Colle" and "Trivecchia". At the place of the castle was a fortress where the population would gather during perilous times or times when the defence requirements reached to an extreme level. It was quite common for the Italic peoples of this age to live in open villages, to which a fortress (usually a hill-top with a rough fence of pointed stakes) might be attached as a place of refuge. Two main branches of dialects developed, the "Umbrian" of the north and the "Oscan" of the southern Apennine districts.
During the time of the Roman Republic and the Samnites, Castropignano was surrounded by a wall with a primary and a secondary entrance. The Samnites were people of central southern Italy, a hardy race of shepherds and farmers with no marked differences in wealth and consequently without a distinct governing class. The Romans had at least three wars with these people of the mountains and they learned some hard lessons, in fact they had to reform their military methods in order to overtake and claim a victory in the year 290. The first Samnite war (343–341 BC) resulted in Roman control of northern Campania; the second (327–321, 316–304 BC) prevented Samnite control of Apulia, Lucania, and southern Campania; the third (298–290 BC) involved and decided the destiny of all peninsular Italy. The Samnites continued to fight in the Social War and the Civil against Sulla (138–78 BC), a Roman general, provincial governor and consul who was proclaimed dictator and was deposed three years later. He slaughtered all the Samnite he could. He, after having numerous battles observed that the Samnite, almost without exception, remained in one body, and with one sole intention, so that they had even marched upon Rome itself, given them battle under the walls, and as he had issued orders to take no prisoners, many of them were cut to pieces on the field, while the remainder, said to be about three to four thousand men, who threw up their arms, were led off to the Villa Publica in the Campus Martius, and were shut in; three days after soldiers were sent in who massacred the whole; and when Sulla drew up his conscription list, he did not rest satisfied until he had destroyed, or driven from Italy, every one who bore a Samnite name. To those who reproached him for his animosity, he replied that he had learned by experience that not a single Roman could rest in peace so long as any of the Samnites survived.
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Wikipedia