On the mountain dedicated to Hercules, the stories of the prison that became an orphanage and then a museum
From its strategic rocky spur, the Montesarchio Castle dominates the entire Apennine complex of Taburno-Camposauro, of which it was a bastion of defence since the early Middle Ages.
Today the museum is dedicated to the historical reconstruction of the Caudina Valley, from prehistoric times to the Roman age, with particular attention to the cultural aspect of the great and proud people of the Samnites.
The history of the museum and the castle
The National Archaeological Museum of Sannio Caudino occupies the first floor of the north wing of the Montesarchio Castle, within the Taburno-Camposauro Regional Park. The Castle, which was probably built in the Lombard period, represented a nerve centre in the control of the territories located between the Campania plain and the Apennine hinterland.
In 1137 it was occupied by the Normans of King Ruggiero II (1137) and then renovated in the Swabian era, during the reign of Frederick II. During the Aragonese period, the fortress received its current arrangement: two buildings on the sides of a central courtyard and a monumental cylindrical tower placed on the rocky spur overlooking the city of Montesarchio.
In 1532, following the war between Charles V and Francis I, the Castle was confiscated and granted to the Marquis of Vasto, Alfonso II d’Avalos. In 1830 the Castle, once again under royal domain, was destined as a state prison. Prior to the completion of renovation works (1852-1855) some illustrious patriots were imprisoned in the Montesarchio prison, including Carlo Poerio, Sigismondo Castromediano, Michele Pironti and Nicola Nisco.
The Castle continued to function as a prison until the Second World War, while in the 1960s it was used as an orphanage (Mater Orphanorum Institute). Taken over by the then Superintendency for the archaeological heritage of Salerno, Avellino and Benevento in 1994, the Castle was the subject of important restoration and adaptation works for the purpose of converting it into a museum complex, which was then inaugurated in 2007.
Heritage
The museum's itinerary is dedicated to the history and archaeology of the Caudina Valley. From the reconstruction of the landscape in the prehistoric age (room I), accompanied by the exhibition of artefacts found in various areas of Sannio Caudino, we move on to the large section dedicated to the site of Caudium, currently Montesarchio (rooms II-IV).
Some grave artefacts from the Caudine necropolis are exhibited in chronological order, dating from the mid-eighth to the third century BC, which testify the richness and complexity of the site, affected by intense commercial exchanges with Greek cities on the coast and the Etruscan-Campania world. Of particular interest are the numerous decorated vases of Attic and Italiote production - especially craters -, found in tombs dating back to the 5th-4th century BC.
The last part of the visit itinerary is dedicated to the other two important centres of Sannio Caudino: Saticula (Sant'Agata dei Goti) and Telesia (S. Salvatore Telesino), of which exemplifying materials from the rich necropolis are exhibited.
