Limosano is the main town in Molise used as the set of the 2013 film with Checco Zalone. In the story Checco takes his son Nicolò on vacation to his aunt in Limosano because he doesn’t have enough money for a luxurious trip. But staying with the stingy aunt turns out to be torture. In the film you can see the town from the provincial road, and its very distinct historic center with the church of Santa Maria Maggiore at the top, and on the right the facade of San Francesco, while Checco and his son climb the stairs to visit their uncle .
The release of the film sparked some controversy in Molise for the stereotypical way in which they were seen by Zalone in the story, such as the total absence of children in the country.
The oldest nucleus stands on the central part of the tufaceous hill of the historic center, while the more recent late Renaissance one developed at the foot of the Ducal Palace. Limosano has medieval origins, built around a castle founded by the Lombards, when it was part of the Gastaldato di Bojano, which later became the County of Molise in the 13th century.
Parish Church of Santa Maria Maggiore
The church dates back to the 11th century, restored in the 15th century after an earthquake, and again heavily modified in the 18th century. The underground crypt remains original; the façade is very simple, characterized by a portal surmounted by a rectangular window. The portal has an architrave with Latin writing and the date of restoration of the church, in 1755; the plan of the building is rectangular with a single nave, laterally composed of a series of chapels bordered by round arches. The span near the entrance is formed by a gallery that preserves the wooden organ.
The presbytery which is located in an elevated position with respect to the area of the faithful, preserves an altar in worked marble; on the right side there are access doors to the bell tower and the sacristy. On the opposite side there is a room that leads to an orthogonal chapel, characterized by Renaissance frescoes; this chapel is dedicated to the Rosary, seat of the homonymous Confraternity.
The bell tower of the church is on the right, with a rectangular turreted plan. One of its walls has an ogival semi-arch attesting to its medieval origin, remodeled in the eighteenth century. There are engraved allegorical symbols of the Sun and the Lamb. Below the level of the church there are rooms: one has a barrel roof and is positioned under the terrace in front of the facade; another is placed under the church, preserving the lockable floor, where some bishops are buried with the original medieval tombstones.
° BLOG ° Gabriele Romano 