CASTELLO PANDONE - MUSEO NAZIONALE DEL MOLISE

The castle was built during the ^10th century, at a time when the weakening of the Lombard power and the growing Saracen threat were already being felt. The Arabs, in fact, were making incursions up the Volturno and ravaging the valley. The fortress of Venafro was therefore of great strategic importance as it controlled the entrance to the upper Volturno valley.

It was destroyed, like the rest of the village, by the earthquake of 1349 and was rebuilt. The castle was then endowed with three large circular towers that can still be seen today. In the ^16th century, a family of Molisans, the Pandones, acquired the fortress and converted it according to the requirements of Renaissance architecture. Its severe facades were pierced with windows and arcades in order to let in light and enjoy the view of the plain below. Inside, around a small courtyard, the building has several floors, the upper ones containing the private apartments. The castle's defense system was completed by an external structure, the Toricella, a watchtower from which the keep of the fortress could be warned of approaching enemies.

Museo Nazionale del Molise. The castle houses the National Museum of Molise, where the most important examples of paintings from the region are displayed. Among the exhibits are the ^7th century frescoes of Santa Maria delle Monache of Isernia.