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Hidden
Isernia - from Venafro to Pietrabbondante
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A
journey from Rome to Potenza takes us off the beaten
track to discover enchanting towns and a spectacular
Samnite theatre.
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 We
leave Rome in our trusty little car armed with maps
of Central and Southern Italy. Our idea is to head
for Potenza
and tour around Basilicata
(or Lucania as it is also known), a region often
neglected by tourists - ourselves included, a fact
we hope to put right with this visit.
The road is long and we decide to take it easy and
enjoy the scenery on route. Our first stop is in
Venafro,
a small town on the border between Lazio, Campania
and Molise, and for the record officially belonging
of the latter.
We spend the night in "Dimora
del Prete di Belmonte", a magnificent 16th
Century house recently renovated and opened to guests
and still belonging to the Del Prete family. There
are only four rooms in the hotel, each one elegantly
furnished with antiques complete with its own modern
bathroom and good value at LIT 150.000 lire per
night. The owners, Luigi and Dorothy, are friendly
and accommodating and for a little extra you can
eat a variety of local specialities prepared in
their kitchen
If you prefer to try out somewhere else you won't
go wrong at "Al Castello", just outside the old
centre, where we spent a number of delicious hours.
Our hosts suggested we visit Pietrabbondante,
so, with our curiosity whetted by its unusual name
(literally Abundant Stone) we headed north-west.
The drive from Venafro to Pietrabbondante winds
across 50 km of mountain roads, but it's worth it.
The town was built near the ruins of an ancient
Samnite
sanctuary dating back to 200 BC. It was a sacred
site, similar in use to Stonehenge, and a meeting
point for the Samnite
tribes in the area. You can visit the remains of
a Samnite theatre, complete with steps for the public
and still used for shows during the summer. There's
something magical about the place and, situated
on a plain overlooking the valley below, the views
are breathtaking.
If, like us, you are in the area at lunchtime, then
we suggest you stop at the restaurant at Pescolanciano
on the road between Pietrabbondante and Isernia
where an antipasto misto della zona and buffalo
mozzarella knots are an absolute must! And you may
put off Potenza and Basilicata for another day.
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| by
DARIO
MORGANTE |
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October
2001
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THE SURVIVOR'S 
