THE CASTLE
Walking up the hill, passing old and abandoned houses, you come across the remnants of a tower. The tower was once a part of a castle that served as a (find a way to rephrase this) system of defense. It was strategic because it connected a road that lead from Venafro to Isernia. In 1269 the castle was registered under Carlo d’Angio’ who gave it to his knights as a reward for their support against the adverse party. The castle is from the Italic age with the structured square polygonal style. The archeology test of the ruins found that the origins of the castle date back to the Angevin time period.
It is considered to be one of the oldest castles in the Molise region. The castle was restored in the late 1990’s by a fund of 150 million LIRE obtained by the CEE (European Economic Community) for a restoration of the castle. Today, there still stands a tower and some visible underground ruins.
The Churches
Despite being a small town and only consisting of 700 inhabitants, Longano offers its residents 3 churches.
Parish of Saint Bartholomew- This church dates back to the medieval time period when Pope Lucio III granted the parish to the Bishop of Isernia in Longano Plebem S. Bartholomaei e in territorio Longanae Ecclesiam S. Sepulchri, (ecclesiam) S. Erasmi. The church is in baroque style, dating back to 1620. From 1816 to 1893 there were many restorations to the church (discuss some of the changes that occurred during the restoration)
Here is where all of the sacraments, funerals, and masses celebrated for a saint’s feast day take place; for example, the patron saint of Longano, Saint Anthony. There are also daily Sunday masses held that begin at 11 am.
Santa Maria della Libera is a private chapel originally owned by the Zona family. In 1902, the Zona family had all of their funds taken by the Credit of Naples. The Zona family had a loan and since they were the owners of the loan the response was “the chapel does not belong to the municipal of Longano unless you have documents to prove so.” After the exchanging of documents the issue still remain unresolved and was put aside until after WWII when the Veneziale family became owners of the chapel.
This chapel was closed for a number of years and then reopened after minor restorations were done. Today, this chapel holds daily weekday masses at 6:30 pm for town residents.
San Rocco is another small chapel located in the center of the town. This church is used for masses and the feast day celebration of San Rocco in August. It was restored in 1973 under the Pastor Pasquale Buonanno and then in 1996 under the Pastor Agostino Lauriola. It is mostly open in the summer for tourists to pay visits and pray.
Front of the main church (Chiesa Madre)
The main church, Chiesa Madre
Back of San Rocco
Front of the main church (Chiesa Madre)