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# 62 • June 12 , 2015
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ITALIAN LITTLE ITALIES:
Oratino, The loner
of Sannio
By I Borghi più belli d’Italia
The talented local craftsmen of
Oratino could express their art
mainly thanks to the patronage of the Dukes Giordano (VIVII century). Portals, balconies,
balustrades of the aristocratic
houses, as well as the interior
of the churches represent the
noble work by blacksmiths,
stonemasons, gilders, glaziers
and painters. A historian described Oratino as "a place
where many arts in perfect taste are cultivated" (1781).
In fact, there are no other towns
in Molise that can boast such a
concentration of artists and artisans. Many of them trained in
Neapolitan school and left traces of their work until the areas of Capitanata, Sannio Beneventano and Abruzzo.
della Vergine” by Ciriaco Brunetti completed in 1791. The
rocaille style (an artistic style
preceding the rococo) used by
this artist from Oratino emerges particularly in the preparatory studies for the decoThe tour begins from the Chur- rations of vaults, ceilings and
ch of Santa Maria Assunta, in trompe-l´oeil.
the old town. The building Santa Maria Assunta also houwas already reported in a do- ses a silver monstrance by the
cument dating back to 1251. goldsmith Isaiah Salati, a CiriaThe church was renovated se- co Brunetti’s grandson (1838).
veral times, especially after the
earthquake of 1456; the vault Out of the village is the Church
of the nave preserves a fresco of Santa Maria di Loreto, wherepresenting an “Assunzione re you can admire the applied
WE THE ITALIANS | 33
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