Bojano

For the Polish village, see Bojano, Pomeranian Voivodeship.

Bojano
Comune
Comune di Bojano
Coat of arms
Bojano Location of Bojano in Italy
Coordinates:
Country	Italy
Region	Molise
Province / Metropolitan city	Campobasso (CB)
Frazioni	see list
Government
• Mayor	Antonio Silvestri
Area
• Total	49 km2 (19 sq mi)
Elevation	480 m (1,570 ft)
Population (31 December 2008)
• Total	8,243
• Density	170/km2 (440/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Bojanesi
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	86021
Dialing code	0874
Patron saint	St. Bartholomew
Saint day	August 25
Website	Official website

Bojano or Boiano is a town and comune in the province of Campobasso, Molise, south central Italy.

History

Originally named Bovianum, it was settled by the 7th century BC. As the capital of the Pentri, a tribe of the Samnites, it played a major role in the Samnite Wars, as well as in the Social War, when it was a temporary capital (89 BC). It was sacked by Sulla.

It was colonized under both the triumvirates, and by Vespasian, who settled veterans of Legio XI Claudia (whence the name Bovianum Undecumanorum), and remained an important centre into late antiquity.

After the Lombard conquest, the deserted area was given to a group of Bulgars, who circa 662 fled from the Avars and sought refuge with the Lombards. Bojano became a seat of a gastaldate. The Bulgars also settled in nearby Sepino and Isernia. Paul the Deacon in his Historia Langobardorum writing after the year 787 says that in his time Bulgars still inhabited the area, and that even though they speak "Latin", "they have not forsaken the use of their own tongue". In later times they had evidently become completely assimilated.

After two centuries marked by Saracen attacks, in the mid-11th century Bojano was conquered by the Hauteville Normans, becoming a fief of Raoul de Moulins, a companion to Robert Guiscard. The city became a county capital.

The city was destroyed by a long series of earthquakes, the last occurring in 1913.

Main sights

The remains of Cyclopean walls can be seen on the heights above the modern town. Other attractions include:

• The Cathedral of St. Bartholomew (11th century), several times damaged by earthquakes. The apse is still in Norman style.
• The church of Sts. Erasmus and Marinus, with a noteworthy Gothic portal.
• The Hermitage of St. Egidius, on a 1,025-metre (3,363 ft) high mountain in the neighbourhood.
• The remains of the Norman Castle.

Frazioni

Alifana, Campi Marzi, Castellone, Chiovitti, Ciccagne, Civita Superiore, Codacchio, Colacci, Collalto, Cucciolene, Fonte delle Felci, Imperato, Limpiilli, Majella, Malatesta, Monteverde, Mucciarone, Pallotta, Petrilli, Pietre Cadute, Pinciere, Pitoscia, Pitti, Prusciello, Rio Freddo, Santa Maria dei Rivoli, Sant'Antonio Abate, Taddeo, Tilli Tilli.

References

• De Benedittis, G. Bovianum ed il suo territorio (1977)

External links

• Official website
• The Battles of Bovianum, 311 BC