Santa Croce del Sannio is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about northeast of Naples and about north of Benevento.
Santa Croce del Sannio borders the municipalities of Castelpagano, Cercemaggiore, Circello and Morcone.
Etymology Santa Croce del Sannio's name derives from the Franciscan name assigned 'Santa Croce' (English: Holy Cross) which remained as the municipality's name until the added suffix 'Di Morcone' was added under the Kingdom of Two Sicilies. The suffix was changed to 'del Sannio' (English: 'Of the Samnites') in 1883 - referring to the municipality's history and geographical location.
History
Samnite Era (4th–3rd centuries BC) During the Samnite era (4th–3rd centuries BC), the area was organized according to the paganico-vicano (English: 'pagan-vican') settlement system of scattered rural villages and farmsteads.
During the Samnite Wars (343–290 BC), Roman forces attacked and destroyed several settlements in Samnium, forcing survivors to retreat to fortified hilltop sites. As a result of these wars the Roman Republic was able to snatch up the surrounding land. Including the (modern) land of Santa Croce del Sannio.
Roman Era Following the Samnite period, a widespread settlement developed, following the Pagan-Vican system, which consolidated during the Romanization of the Samnite Apennines.
During the Roman Era the area was recorded in the itinerarium Antonini (in 161AD) as the 'statio super tamari fluvium' (English: station on the Tammaro River) which was in reference to the area's geographic position. It functioned as a stopover and resting place for travelers along the Via Minucia.Cuntz, Otto, ed. 1929. Itineraria Romana. Vol. 1, Itineraria Antonini Augusti et Burdigalense. Lipsiae: Teubner.Bagnall, Roger S. 2000. “Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World.” Edited by Richard J. A. Talbert. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. It operated from 30 BC – AD 300.
The Romans exploited the region’s transhumance routes, formalizing seasonal movement of animal flocks along paths such as the Regio Tratturo Pescasseroli–Candela. Livestock quickly became a major export and aspect of local commerce for the area.
The land that became Santa Croce del Sannio started to be known as 'Casale Sanctae Crucis' (English: 'Hamlet of the Holy Cross'), during this era, becoming a small Hamlet.
8th Century Monks of this era (exact year contested) gave the hamlet its name, 'Santa Croce' (until 1883) with the name deriving from the local church that was dedicated to the Holy Cross.
In 762, King Desiderius, the last Lombard king, assigns the possession of the town to the Abbot Theodemario of the Abbey of Montecassino.
9th Century At the time of the Saracen invasions, in the 9th century, the hamlet of Santa Croce was mysteriously spared from plundering; history does not explain the reason. This mysterious event gave birth to the 'La Pace' tale (although it wouldn't be performed until 1785).
11th Century In the year 1000, Santa Croce became a hamlet of the Cassinesi. The hamlet also became the origin location of the Santacroce family, which became very powerful under the Angevins.
Angevin Period (12th-13th Century) William I “the bad” of Sicily took the land from the Cassinesi and donated it to Rodolfo Alemagno who owned it from 1172 to 1183. During this time Santa Croce had the differentiating suffix 'di Morcone' added to avoid confusion with another Santa Croce, called Magliano.
In a land registry ordered by Frederick II in 1239, the description of the territory of Santa Croce has listed a "Colle di San Giovanni." (English: Hill of Saint John).
In 1245 the Church of the Holy Cross (which the land was named after) was rebuilt by the Franciscans.
Subsequently, in 1277, the estate came under the ownership of William of Santa Croce. Later, under Charles II of Anjou, it was transferred to Manfredi of Santa Croce, who eventually sold it to Siginulfo, Count of Telese.
The two clusters of dwellings (the casalia hominum recorded in the monastic cartularies) that can be identified in the building fabric of Vicoli Tiglio and Via Dianella were progressively incorporated into the Norman castrum, which included the cluster of houses located downstream from the castle. The first of the two farmhouses, along with the surrounding building growth, was enclosed within a wall that reached as far as the current Palazzo Giovine in the early 12th century.
As the period continued, the population increased further, with the need for a further neighbourhood coming into fruition. It was formed based on a modular subdivision. Under these circumstances, the castle became a feudal residence, albeit temporarily, with the construction of the commune's tower.
Aragonese (15th-16th Century) In 1456 Ferdinand I of Aragon gave this fiefdom as remuneration to his captain of arms Giovan Battista del Balzo. This same year in December the town was destroyed during the 1456 Central Italy earthquakes.
In 1532, there were 60 households, in 1545 there were 72, in 1561 there were 75, in 1595 146, in 1648 it was taxed for 120 households and in 1669 for 240.
The Chiesa Madre di Santa Maria Assunta was created in 1536. It was created using local limestone which were sourced by devoted farmers. It was built at the top of a hill in the very centre of the oldest part of the village. The construction was carried out using traditional local medieval techniques.
From 1561 the Santa Croce population was increased significantly by the immigration of families from the nearby Cercemaggiore, hit by an epidemic of plague. Later, the fiefdom passed to the family of Sorrento Tramontano.
17th Century In October 1656 to March 1657 a terrible plague broke out with the chapel becoming important in suppressing the spread of infection. Inside the church it is still possible to read the epigraph that reads “In tempore pestis 1656”. The inhabitants of the small village turned to San Giovanni for intercession and to ask for protection. Hailed as a "Miracle", despite the dramatic circumstances of the epidemic, the population of Santa Croce increased, tripling the commune's population prior to the plague since immigration from Cercemaggiore continued. By 1669, the number of taxable households had risen to 240 (from 72 in 1545), doubling the tax burden. Overall the plague killed around 600 people, including clergy members and the archpriest Don Libero Antonio Marino, except for two clerics who were away at the Seminary of Benevento.Pierro G., Storia di Cercemaggiore, Tipografia Francesco Sicignano e figli, Valle di Pompei, 1924, pp. 211-212.
As a result of the 1688 Sannio earthquakes the Chiesa Madre di Santa Maria Assunta was destroyed.
In 1690 the archbishop of Benevento, Cardinal Pietro Orsini (later Pope Benedict XIII), went on a pastoral visit to the village for the first time and found the Chapel of San Giovanni in a "truly precarious condition". It was for this reason that he ordered its restoration which was carried out until 1710 when the chapel was consecrated to the venerated saint.
18th Century The century saw many religious reforms in the area of Santa Croce di Morcone due to Cardinal Orsini. In 1709, Archbishop Orsini ordered that the Chiesa Sant’Antonio and the adjacent convent be ceded to the observant Franciscan friars from the nearby province of Foggia. On June 24, 1710, the feast day of Saint John the Baptist, the Chiesa Madre di Santa Maria Assunta was now restored, and was consecrated by Cardinal Orsini. In 1711, work began on expanding the convents surrounding the Chiesa Sant’Antonio, which, among other modifications, included the construction of the left and rear sides. They were completed in 1725 and two years later the Franciscan community of Santa Croce achieved full autonomy.
In 1785 the festival 'La Pace' began after an epitaph was built in 1786 that reports the text of the decree of King Ferdinand IV, establishing the weekly livestock market in Santa Croce di Morcone. The festival has been held annually since, excluding 1944 due to the Second World War.
19th Century Following a revolt in 1802 from the townsfolk, the last heir of the Tramontano family lost his control of the fiefdom with the town declaring themselves a "libera Università" (English: 'Free University') - which made the town self-governing and removed feudal obligations.
Following the Kingdom of Naples' law no. 132 of 8 August 1806 the libera Università became a municipality and the College of Decurions was established.(N.132) Legge sulla divisione ed amministrazione delle province del regno. 8 August 1806. With the subsequent law no. 14 on 19 January 1807 the municipality of Santa Croce was ascribed to the government of Morcone of the province of Molise.Law No. 14. 19 January 1807. Kingdom of Naples. With decree no. 922 of 4 May 1811 Santa Croce was included in the district of Sepino of the district of Campobasso.Law no. 922. 4 May 1811. Kingdom of Naples.
After the Risorgimento had swept through the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and brought it under the Kingdom of Italy, the municipality was passed to the province of Benevento (under lieutenant decree n. 260 of 17 February 1861lieutenant decree n. 260. 17 February 1861. Kingdom of Italy.) just after Benevento had been itself elevated to the status of province on October 25, 1860.
Royal Decree n. 1210 of 8 February 1883 changed the name of the municipality from its original 'Santa Croce di Morcone' to the modern 'Santa Croce del Sannio', in reference to its geographical and historical location under the Samnites.Royal Decree n. 1210. 8 February 1883. Kingdom of Italy
20th Century By the early 20th Century many residents from Santa Croce del Sannio would emigrate abroad to places like Rhode Island where a few documented Santacrocesi moved.
Following the rise of Fascism within Italy, the famed scholar, Girolamo Vitelli in writing to a friend remarked: "It is the nobility of the aims of Fascismo which enabled it to sweep away in a few days the whole organization of graft, parasitism and incompetence, which for decades had been sucking the life-blood of the country and exploiting the hard-working honest people, who only asked to be allowed to conduct their own business in their own way and look after their homes, their fields, and their families" which came as a result of Girolamo's friend informing him that the town had created a fascist section.
Geography Santa Croce del Sannio is located in the upper Tammaro valley at 689m above sea level, in the Campanian Apennines. The municipal territory is crossed by an ancient transhumance route, the Pescasseroli-Candela sheep track.
Governance
Since 1993 has the municipality has held direct elections for mayor, introduced under Law no. 81 on 25 March 1993.
The current serving mayor is Antonio Zeoli.
Demographics
Population