In Venafro, the gateway city of Molise, an ancient medieval manor dominates, as well as one of the most beautiful castles in Molise: Pandone Castle, named after the Pandone family who became the owner of the Castle at the end of the fifteenth century, transforming it into an elegant noble palace. A museum itinerary presents a wide selection of works including paintings and sculptures in turn in dialogue with the spaces and the numerous frescoes of the castle.
Museo nazionale di Castello Pandone History
The oldest part of the castle is a megalithic structure, the remains of which are visible at the base of the Lombard keep. The development of the fortified complex took place in the second half of the tenth century. With the advent of the Normans, the castle and the village suffered extensive damage by the troops of Roger II of Altavilla. In the Angevin period the moat and the three large circular towers with a truncated cone base were built. In 1443, with the Aragonese, the castle passed to the Pandone family.
Between 1522 and 1527, Count Enrico Pandone transformed this mighty stronghold into an elegant noble palace, softening it with the collection of his favorite horses immortalized in full-scale frescoes.
In the seventeenth century the castle, after being owned by the viceroy family of the Lannoys, passed to the Peretti Savelli family of Sixtus V and, in the following century, to the powerful family of the Capua family.
In one wing of the castle you can visit the rooms ennobled by Count Enrico Pandone between 1522 and 1527 with original and spectacular frescoes representing the horses he owned, or the noble hall with a cycle of bucolic-themed frescoes from the sixteenth century.
In another wing there is the National Museum of Molise, which counts on pictorial works between the early Christian age and the modern age.