San Pietro Avellana: meetings of shared roots

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Events as a prelude to the anniversary of the founding of San Pietro Avellana

San Pietro Avellana is a small town in the Province of Isernia located in the heart ofAlto Molise at 900 meters above sea level, surrounded by a beautiful mountain landscape and an expanse of beech and turkey oak forests. With the arrival of the Benedictine monks in 1026, the first coenoby was born, which soon became a direct dependency of Montecassino, near which the present town developed. For this very reason, next 2026 will mark the 1,000th anniversary of the founding of what is now present-day San Pietro Avellana. In preparation for the celebratory events, it is intended to organize a series of thematic events starting in 2024, “Year of Italian Roots in the World.”

The events to be held and which will serve as a prelude to the anniversary of the founding of St. Peter Avellana will be related to the history and connection with local traditions of Sampietresi living in the country and abroad.

In August, a time when Sampietresi living in the world return to their country of origin to spend their summer vacation, “Emigrant Day” will be organized. For the occasion, a conference on the theme will be organized that will directly involve, in presence and remotely, the three generations of emigrants from Sampietresi: the first emigrated at the beginning of the 1900s headed to the continents overseas, the second that in the postwar period moved to European nations, and the third more recent that preferred the territories of Northern Italy. The topics of the meeting will be local dialect, folk traditions and their preservation and transmission among different generations of emigrants. A concert of traditional Molise music with local artists will be scheduled at the end of the meeting.

Nov. 3 marks the town’s Patronal Feast, the annual event most heartfelt by the population: the Feast of St. Friend, a Benedictine monk who lived the last period of his life in St. Peter’s Wood, which today bears his name. In preparation for the celebration, a conference will be organized whose topics will be:

• Life and cult of St. Friend

• Ancient and current history of San Pietro Avellana

• The influence of Benedictine monks in Molise.

The speakers will be scholars and local experts on the representative issues.

On the two festive occasions, “Roots Workshops” will be organized with the aim of perpetuating the rich historical confectionery tradition of San Pietro Avellana, also involving Sampietresi living abroad through meetings and workshops via video conference.