You
can (really) see quite a few castles in a day (and enjoy
lunch and a few shops) when in this area…..plus the
rustic scenery on the drive is wonderful. I usually start
in the north or the south — in this case I’ll
take the southern town of Monteroduni and move
north……Monteroduni has the Castello
Pignatelli, an imposing fortress castle — strategically
(and beautifully) situated at the top of the village.
It’s an interesting place. While in town, stop in
at the Chiesa di Santa Maria in Altissimis.
My
next stop is in Cerro al Volturno where there is
an amazingly situated castle on a hill….the drive
toward the town is especially cool. The Lombard castle,
from the 13th century started out as an abbey
and was bought by a noble family (Pandone) — thus
the name — Castello Pandone. Stop in at the
Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta, Chiesa di San Rocco
and the Chiesa di San Pietro Apostolo.
Acquaviva
d’Isernia’s Castello should be added
to your visit to the Molise region….. and do stop
in at the Chiesa di Sant’Anastasia, Chiesa Santa
Maria Assunta and Oratorio Santa Maria del Rosario while
in town.