MOLISE. – A historical region of central Italy, usually united with Abruzzo and corresponding, in administrative terms, to the province of Campobasso.
I. GEOGRAPHY
The origin of the name is uncertain; it dates back to the 11th century. The original county, which arose in the Lombard and Norman periods and was later incorporated into the Terra di Lavoro and the Capitanata, became an autonomous province in 1806. The territory shares the characteristics of nearby Abruzzo, with an inner belt of high limestone massifs (Meta, Matese), followed toward the Adriatic (where Molise extends from the Trigno to the Saccone) by alternating low mountains and clayey-schistose hills (hence the frequency of landslides). Like Abruzzo, Molise has often been devastated by earthquakes. It is predominantly an agricultural-pastoral region (cereals, vines, fruit), with little industrial development (hydroelectric plants being a recent addition) and modest traditional craftsmanship. The province of Campobasso, covering 4,445 sq. km., had 388,300 inhabitants in the last census (1936); by 1950, despite considerable emigration, this had risen to 405,000; the density (90 inhabitants per sq. km.) is, however, lower than that of the entire district (110). Campobasso, the most populous city, has nearly 30,000 inhabitants.II. POLITICAL HISTORY
Molise comprises part of ancient Samnium (*Sannium, Samnites*), inhabited by the Caudini, Pentri, and Frentani, federated at least in wartime, and subdued by the Romans in 288 BC. They fared no better in the Second Punic War, and in 179 BC the region was repopulated with Ligurian colonists in servile condition. Nor did they fare better when they sided with the Marsi against Sulla. During these harsh and protracted wars, the principal Samnite cities—Alfedena (*Alfadena*), Boiano (*Bovianum*), Sepino (*Saepinum*), Termoli (*Thermula*), Trivento (*Terventum*), Larino (*Larinum*), Isernia (*Aesernia*), and Venafro (*Venafrum*)—were destroyed. Nevertheless, one may still admire the ruins of the Roman forum at Aufidena, the megalithic walls of Sepino, the remains of the Roman theatres at Old Boiano, and the amphitheatre of Larino.
During the barbarian invasions, the consular roads of the Via Valeria-Claudia and Via Appia, which intersected at Isernia and continued toward Boiano as far as Brindisi, as well as the Via Traiana, which ran along the Adriatic littoral of Molise, were also abandoned. These were succeeded by mule tracks and drove roads (*tratturi*), the first of which was the Barletta–Montecassino route, linking Apulia, Abruzzo, and Campania.
Molise was first invaded by the Lombards and Byzantines, Benevento (v.). The name recurs of nine Molisan counties, almost all of Lombard origin: Venafro, Isernia, Campomarino, Trivento, Boiano, Sangro, Pietrabbondante, Termoli, and Larino. During the Norman period, Boiano with its gastaldate appears as the centre of the Molisan county, whose origins do not seem to predate 1053. A Hugh de Moles (de Molhousse), count of Boiano, in 1080 had the city’s cathedral built. Under the Swabians
sessions of the Molisan Benedictines at that time. A specific inventory of precious objects in gold, silver, gems, and sacred paraments for the churches of the dioceses of Venafro, Isernia, Boiano, Guardialfiera, and Trivento, drawn up by another Hugh de Molinis, describes him as count of Molise, a title later applied to the region. Others would derive the name Molise from the small village of the same name, situated between Torello and Duronia, though its origins are unknown. From 1200, Peter of Celano sought to extend his Marsican county into Molise and succeeded by giving his son Thomas in marriage to the Molisan countess Judith. In this way, the Marsican-Molisan county was able to extend from the Marca of Ancona to Civitate in Apulia and rebel against Frederick II, who ordered the destruction of its forces. The Molisani again became lords of the Molisan county under the Angevins until Robert the Wise, who invested the Gambatesa family—later also known as counts of Monforte—with II. From then on, Molise remained first attached to the Terra di Lavoro and then to the Capitanata; in 1806 it became part of Abruzzo, though as an autonomous province. Even today, the towns of Ururi and Portocannone host Albanian colonies, and Acquaviva Collecroce has been inhabited by Slavs since 1500.
III. CHRISTIAN HISTORY
When and by whom the Gospel was first preached in this region cannot be known with certainty. Saints and martyrs, whom later *Passiones* identified as the first local evangelizers—when they are not entirely legendary—are today explained as the result of posthumous translations of relics from distant lands. Thus St Photinus or Potinus, believed to have been sent by St Peter. St Castus, presumed bishop and martyr of Trivento, can at most be identified with the namesake African martyr venerated in many other parts of southern Italy. The supposed martyrs of Venafro, Nicander and Marcian, belong to Tomis in Moesia. The St Benedict of the cathedral of Isernia is entirely absent from episcopal lists.Lanzoni, commenting on the letter of St Leo I (6 March 459) “to all the bishops established throughout Campania, Samnium, and Picenum,” adds: “There were therefore several, and probably as early as the 4th century.” Their original sees were certainly the same cities mentioned above. The names of the respective bishops can be traced from the mid-5th century for the dioceses of Alfedena, Alife, Boiano, Sepino, and Venafro. The see of Alfedena would have been transferred to Trivento in the 10th century; while according to others, the diocese of Trivento existed from the 4th century. The cathedral of Termoli, completed in the 12th century, is the most notable monument in the region. The cathedral of Larino was completed in 1319. The episcopal see of Boiano has recently been transferred to Campobasso.
With the conversion of Arechi, Lombard duke of Benevento, in the year 600, followed en masse by the Lombards of the Sannio, there began to arise in the Molise numerous grancies and Benedictine monasteries, more or less dependent on Montecassino, such as, for example: S. Pietro del Tasso at Carovilli, S. Marco at Carpinone, S. Pietro Avellana, S. Maria di Monteverde (Mirabello), S. Maria Decorata at Gildone, S. Maria Faifula at Montagnano, S. Benedetto at Pietrafraccia, S. Maria Casalpinto (Morrone), S. Benedetto di Pettinari (Ururi), etc. In terms of art, antiquity, and grandeur, the Benedictine monastery of S. Vincenzo Martire at the Volturno stood preeminent among them all; it was founded in 703 by the Lombards Paldone, Tatone, and Tasone. From the Chronicon of this monastery, written by the monk John in the 12th century, one learns what churches, monasteries, and possessions existed there at that time. A specific inventory of precious objects in gold, silver, gems, and sacred vestments for the churches of the dioceses of Venafro, Isernia, Boiano, Guardialfiera, and Trivento, drawn up on 20 August 1241, was published by Evelina Jamison (v. BIBLICA).
The most renowned saint of the region is certainly Peter of Isernia, a hermit of Morrone and later Pope Celestine V (1204), initiator of the Benedictine reform of the Celestines (v.), which soon spread even to France. Thus arose the Celestine abbeys of S. Maria di Canneto near Monfalcone del Sannio, of S. Maria della Strada near Matrice, of S. Giorgio in Petrella Tifernina, of S. Maria degli Angeli at Ripalimosani, and likewise at Isernia, Riccia, Guglionesi, Boiano, and Campobasso. During the first Franciscan century, the Friars Minor also founded convents at Isernia, Agnone, Campobasso, Serracapriola, and Morrone del Sannio. The Clarisses appear contemporaneously at Agnone, Isernia, and Frosolone. The best-known Dominican convent is the sanctuary of the Madonna della Libera near Cercemaggiore. The Capuchins founded their first convent at Termoli ca. 1530 and their second at Venafro in 1573. The Carmelite convent at Venafro dates back to 1328. In later times, the Theatines, Scolopi, and Redemptorists also opened some houses in the Molise.
The present spiritual situation of the Molise is outlined under the entries for the relevant dioceses. - Vedi tmv. LXXXIV-LXXXV.