We the Italians November 21, 2016 - 85 | Page 36

st st # 85 NOVEMBER 21 , 2016 centers in this region. Its existence is known from the year 981, when in a judicial dispute about the castles at the service of the abbey of San Vincenzo al Volturno, also enters the castellum quod Vantra nominatur, the same as in another part of the document is called castle de Vantra quod dicitur Fornellu. The titling to the Archangel Saint Michael of the mother church suggests that the hill on which it stands has seen the passage and the ruling of the Longobards. The highest part of the village is occupied by religious au- # 85 November 21 2016 metry are softened by elements late baroque in the brackets of the balconies. To the family Laurelli must be the latest changes to the palace, such as the cant close to the mother The main door of access church. to the historical center was equipped with a drawbri- The church of San Michedge that rose on the moat. le Arcangelo, on which One enters the village stands the bell tower of even through Porta Ca- 1738, was consecrated in stello and Porta Nova, in- 1746. The recent tampeputs so small as to prevent ring with the high cover access to motor vehicles. to time nor has betrayed The baronial palace, built the original shapes; they on the castle walls at the remain to see the statue door of Umberto I square, of San Michele and three has two circular norman paintings of the eighteincorporated towers with enth century recently rethe main façade, whose stored. The church of St. characters of strict sym- Peter the Martyr will keep thorities and by the civil Authority, represented by baronial palace that repeats in large part the system of the ancient Lombard castle. the memory of the beautiful renaissance portal and the marble inlays of antependium that decorates the baroque altar. In the square on which overlooks the church, is located the fountain dedicated to summer, a copy of the sculpture that the French Le Mathurin Moreau presented to the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1855. Aluminum Frames and flooring to queue of Pavone does not do justice to the village, which can do much more to promote its type “winding total” ,the compactness, namely, that of its urban core within the ancient walls. LOCAL PRODUCT City of the oil, stove and surrounded by olive trees and produces a fruity oil and light. A mill at the entrance of the village is a cooperative marketing testify to the importance of this product for the local economy. In the territory you will also find truffles, as in other areas of the Molise. Finally, there are cultivated legumes endangered along the river di Vandra. LOCAL DISHES It begins - strictly in dialect - with taccunell and fasciuel (a paste without eggs, cut into squares, seasoned with sautéed in olive oil, garlic and beans), then sciurc Coccia (zucchini flowers in batterfried) and then r’ suffritt (entrails or offal fried lamb with potatoes and peppers) or casc’ and ova (liver kid with eggs and cheese). It closes with the sweet, which is different for every season: a carnival the cioffe (flakes of pastry fried), at Easter the pastiera (tart rice cooked in milk) and r’ sciaiun (calzones stuffed with various types of cheeses and vegetables), at Christmas the cerchiata (balls of sweet pastry with honey) and “r sciusc” (bread dough and potatoes, fried and sprinkled with sugar). THE NAME The assumption most accredited and is that the castle of the X century mentioned with the name of Bantra in Chronicon Vulturnense and di Vandra in subsequent documents, has changed its name to cooking stove in the XI century and Stoves around in the middle of the XVIII. THE etymology is to connect to the presence in the territory of furnaces for bricks and tiles or ovens for the processing of metals. 36 | WE THE ITALIANS WE THE ITALIANS | 37 www.wetheitalians.com www.wetheitalians.com