BACK

- Origin Of The Name Castropignano

     The name Castropignano appeared for the first time in a thesis written by Michelangelo Ziccardi, a Molisan archeologist. Ziccardi supports the theory that Castropignano as it is known today and the place Palombinum that is mentioned by Tito Livio in the Story of Rome where a war with the Samnites was described is the same place. Ziccardi also concluded in his thesis that Palombinum in the dialect day-to-day language of the Samnites at that time meant " a fortress ". The fact that Castropignano was a fortified place is demonstrated by a natural defensive wall that exists with the rock " La Fata ". The remains of this rock wall show that during the period of the Samnite wars, the natural position of the town and the North-West position of the castle was perfect for defensive purposes. Tito Livio described the conquest of Palombinum [ Year 459 of Rome ( 294 AD ) ] with the words, " Carvilio has already occupied Velia ( it is questionable whether Velia meant Torella del Sanio, Casalchiprano, or S. Angelo Limosano ), Palumbino and Herculaneum ( it is questionable whether Herculaneum could be Campobasso or Oratino ). Velia was taken in a few days and within the end of this day the wall of Palombinum will be taken ".

     Tito Livio writes that Palombino ( Castropignano ) opened the door to the Romans without any resistance. So, Castropignano, even with its surrounding wall and with its natural position could not fashion any absolute pressure during the one day siege. It can be argued then, that the habitants were stopped without a battle because of the large number of deaths they had suffered in a previous war or because with the fall of Herculaneum and Velia, they felt that they had lost their support so it was futile to offer any resistance.

     Other studies into the history have written that Castropignano was actually derived from " Castra Pinaria ", others say that it was derived from " Castra Pugnarum ". Casa Pinara indicated a fortress or a fortified place for defensive purposes and was governed by a Roman military family called Pinaria. Each of the two words in "Castra Pugnarium" have a special meaning. Castra meant "a fortified place" while Pugnarium meant "an area of bloody confrontations" between the Samnite and the Romans. Early writings of a woman called Carmela Ciamarra describe an early plan of Castropignano presented by a monk from Limosano called Zagomo Iacovone to a Roman consul named " Castrum Pineani ".
    It can be concluded then that Castropignano was called;
    " Palumbinum" during the time of the Samnite wars,
    " Castrum Pineani " during the time occupied by the Romans, and
    " Castro Pignano " in the medieval time period.
     Finally, documentation in the parochial archives of Chiesa Madre, the main church of Castropignano exists a baptismal registration signed by a Carlo Borsella, who was bursar and parish priest of the town " Castri Pineani " in the year 1840. Since the church always operated in the Latin language, all writings were in Latin and so the town was referred to as " Castri Pineani". The final reasoning that explains why Pineani appears in the parochial register is that he was born a Roman consul and it was highly probable that the Romans abolished the Palombinum name and adopted the name Castrum or Castra Pineani which meant the " Fortress of Pineano ". Over the years Pineano transformed to Pagnano and finally " Castro Pignano " It is interesting to note that members of an immigrant family with the surname " Castelpagano " , now residing in San Jose California are descendants of the Roman Consul Pineano.

- The Crest Of Castropignano

     It contains three towers encircled by a wall with one door. On each side of the fortress is a letter "C" and "P". The letters indicate the name "Castrum Pineani" the Roman Consul stationed in the area at that time.

     An older design of the crest can be found in the church of San Salvatore, on the left side when you enter the church. The three towers indicate the three old fortresses that existed in the old days, Trivecchia, Colle, and Castello.

* NOTE: The history book by Raffaele Sardella makes no reference as to the origin and meaning of the crown above the three towers that is now present on the town crest.

The english version of Castropignano was sent to me by, Nicola Ciolfi. He is a member of the Club Castropignano, Niagara. He is actually the accordion player in the group photo that is on the web site. During the last five years he has made three trips to Italy. He left Italy as a boy about 50 years ago. Nicola was hungry for information wanting to know more and more about Castropignano and his ancestors. He started with the English translation of the book by R. Sardella because he wanted his children and his grandchildren to know the written history of Castropignano. He combined the information from the book with information from other sources and put together the version I have put up on the website. Nicola hopes that all born in Noth America descendants of immigrants who have little or no Italian literary skills will be able to read about the history of Castropignano and their ancestral town.

Thank you Nicola Ciolfi for your contribution.