vicoduomo - Larino: The Miracle of the Molise

Introduction

The history of Larino stretches back for eons of time into the dim recesses of human memory. This little community was already famous when Caesar was alive. Coleen McCullough, the famous Australian author (most famous, perhaps, for the Thornbirds) wrote a series of novels on Roman history in which she frequently mentions Larinum, the latin name for Larino.

The old town is rather like an island in a sea of cultivated land. The surrounding valleys gave Larino its shape (like a wing) and preserved it from the worst ravages of modernity. Even today construction is carefully monitored and the town, after the recent earthquake, is being reborn in beautiful pastel colours.

At the very outset, my wife and I wish to dedicate this site to Signor Igino Pilone. We've always hoped that the Town would create a permament collection of his photographs (and the photographs of his father and grandfather). Until that day this site will, I hope, preserve some of his work and make it accessible to all who love this community. In general, the black and white images are from Signor Pilone's collection, although some of the pictures are much clearer in the original rather than the electronic versions.

The contribution made to Larino by Signor Pilone and his father and grandfather is inestimable. Their work is a memory bank of the life of a town and all who have lived here. In fact, in his carefuly preserved archives it is likely that Igino Pilone has an image of members of your family: some in the distant past, Some as recently as yesterday.

This site had its beginnings on the server at Ryerson University. I've rebuilt this site using the ingredients of the older. I've always felt that a visit to Larino is greatly enriched if the traveller knows something of the history and traditions of the town.

The material is presented in sections which can be reviewed individually and will assist you achieve an impression of Larino/Larinum.

Now you can begin your journey.

To find out why Cicero, the great orator and contemporary of Julius Caeser, took such a great interest in Larino, look at the section on Via Cluenzio. Discover why Alessandro Dumas (the writer of The Man in the Iron Mask, The Three Musketeers) was fascinated by the story of The Child of Death. Look at the work of a living artist who captures images on Larino's past in the section dealing with the work of Sig. Antonio Ecclisse, titled An Artist'sVision. Find out why the saints, Primiano, Firmiano, and Casto, play so great a part in the religious life of the community. Learn something about the Cathedral and while some people feel that San Pardo continues to protect the community. Place Larino's story in the perspective of the history of Wester Civilization in CHRONOLOGY.