Larino

The village of Larino is located in Molise. Noteworthy are the historical testimonies of epochs, especially Roman times, with archaeological sites of great interest such as the amphitheater, the spas, the hole and mosaics of medieval times such as the Romanesque-Gothic Cathedral dedicated to the Saint Patron Saint Pardo, from its unique and unique 13-rays rose garden, the Ducal Palace founded in the eleventh century and in the extended and modified centuries, now the seat of the Civic Museum, the Municipal Library and the historical archive, the museum and the Diocesan archive all inside the Bishop's Palace, the Convent of the Cappuccini brothers and some palaces and noble villas of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In the vicinity of Larino there are numerous olive groves, which are the most prevalent crops in the area and which produce an excellent quality olive oil (from the native larch Gentile di Larino). Other typical crops are vine, cereals and vegetables.

Urbs princeps frentanorum called it the ancients, to underline the importance of the past in this important city of the Low Molise, which was one of the main centers of the Frentani territory. Its foundation is likely to be dated around the 12th century BC. by the hand of the Italic people of the Osci, who gave it the name of Frenter. Subsequently the city was destroyed and rebuilt with the name Ladinod, as transcribed on numerous ancient coins found in larned territory. With the passage of centuries, this term changed in the Latin name Larinum, later deformed in Larina, then in Alarino, to reach the present form of Larino in the nineteenth century. Following the Sannitian wars, the city was conquered by the Roman Republic (319 BC) and became a res publica, maintaining its own autonomy over other frentee cities. The name was changed to Latin Larinum, the place where the Frentani had the Lari. During the Second Punic War (217-201 BC) was a battle theater between Annibale's army, camped in nearby Gerione, and Fabio Massimo, dictator in Larinum. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the dominance of southern Italy by the Lombards (VI - X century AD) influenced Larino's life, which became an integral part of the Benevento Duchy, maintaining a certain legal autonomy guaranteed by the presence of a With you. In fact, it was at the head of one of the 34 counties in which the Benedictine Duchy was subdivided. The traditional date of 842, associated with the memory of the translation of the relics of the patron S.Pardo from the city of Lucera to Larino, sanctions the definitive exodus from the ancient Roman city, located on the hill and easily accessible from Saracen and Ungare incursions coming from coast, towards the most hidden underlying valley and set on a rocky spur of course. The historical center is characterized by the Palazzo Ducale and the Duomo, from some monuments of medieval and Renaissance times. The towers, the villas, the walls and some of the churches in the village witness a social life that has evolved in the past centuries. Many are the palaces of the local historical families that have had weight in Larino's life.

They certainly deserve a visit to the Roman Amphitheater of the ancient Larinum, the Cathedral of San Pardo and the Ducal Palace.