Santa Croce del Sannio

Santa Croce del Sannio is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Benevento in the Italian region Campania, located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) northeast of Naples and about 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Benevento.

Santa Croce del Sannio borders the municipalities of Castelpagano, Cercemaggiore, Circello and Morcone.

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.

During the Samnite era (4th–3rd centuries BC), the area was organized according to the paganico-vicano settlement system of scattered rural villages and farmsteads.^[3][4]

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.^[5]

Following the Samnite period, a widespread settlement developed, following the Pagan-Vican system, which consolidated during the Romanization of the Samnite Apennines.^[3]

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 for travelers along the Via Minucia.^[6][7][8] It operated from 30 BC – AD 300.^[9]

The Romans exploited the region’s transhumance routes, formalizing the seasonal movement of flocks along paths such as the Regio Tratturo Pescasseroli–Candela. Livestock became a major aspect of commerce in the area.^[10][11][12]

The area became to be known as 'Casale Sanctae Crucis', a small Hamlet.^[4][13]

It was the monks of this era that gave the town its name, 'Santa Croce' (until 1883) with the name deriving from the local church that was dedicated to the Holy Cross.^[14]

In 762, King Desiderius, the last Lombard king, assigns the possession of the town to the Abbot Theodemario of the Abbey of Montecassino.^[4]

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).^[15]

In the year 1000, Santa Croce was a hamlet of the Cassinesi, the origins of the Santa Croce family, which became very powerful under the Angevins.^[3][15]

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.^[15][16] During this time Santa Croce had the differentiating suffix 'di Morcone' added to avoid confusion with another Santa Croce, called Magliano.^[4]

In a land registry ordered by Frederick II in 1239, the description of the territory of Santa Croce mentions a  "Colle di San Giovanni." (English: Hill of Saint Giovanni)^[17]

In 1245 the Church of the Holy Cross was rebuilt by the Franciscans.^[15][16]

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.^[13][15][16]

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.^[3]

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.^[3]

In 1456 Ferdinand I of Aragon gave this fiefdom as remuneration to his captain of arms Giovan Battista del Balzo.^[4][18] This same year in December the town was destroyed during the 1456 Central Italy earthquakes.^{[19][20][21][22]}

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.^[4]

The Chiesa Madre di Santa Maria Assunta was created in 1536.^[23] 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.^[24]

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.^[15]

In October 1656 - March 1657 a terrible plague broke out with the chapel becoming important in supressing 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.^[25][17][26]

As a result of the 1688 Sannio earthquakes the Chiesa Madre di Santa Maria Assunta was destroyed.^[27]

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.^[25][17][26]

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.^[28][29] 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.^[17][26] 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.^[28][29]

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.^[30][31] The festival has been held annually since with the exclusion of 1944 due to the Second World War.^[31]

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.^[32]

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.^[33] 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.^[34] With decree no. 922 of 4 May 1811 Santa Croce was included in the district of Sepino of the district of Campobasso.^[35][36]

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 1861^[29][37]) just after Benevento had been itself elevated to the status of province on October 25, 1860.^[38]

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.^{[3][4][29][39]}

By the early 20th Century many residents from Santa Croce Del Sannio would immigrate abroad to places like Rhode Island where a few documented Santacrocesi moved.^[40]

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.^[41]

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.

Since 1993 has the municipality has held direct elections for mayor, introduced under Law no. 81 on 25 March 1993.^[42]

First recorded on 31 December 1861 (after the municipality's formation and Risorgimento), the total population was recorded as 4,161 people with this number increasing by 1.8% to 4,237 people in 1871. Following the next census this number decreased by -0.8% to 4,201 people. A steady increase occurred as it went through 1901 and 1911's censuses with it recorded in 1901 that 4,389 (+4.5%) people now resided in the municipality, in 1911 it increased to 4,863 (+10.8%). Proceeding the First World War and Spanish Flu the population fell -6.0% to 4,571. By 1931 this number had sharply declined by 40.3% to 2,728. In 1936 the number continued to stifle down to 2,500 (-8.3%). Proceeding the Second World War in 1951 the population had decreased by 16.6% to 2,084. 1961 it fell by another 15.7% to 1,756 people. 1971 it again fell by 25% to 1,317 people. 1981 down by another 7.7% to 1,216. 1991 down by 4.4% to 1,166. 2001 down by 8.5% to 1,067. With the first online Italian census in 2011 it continued to dwindle by 7.7% to 985. 2021 it was reported that 858 still reside in the municipality which was down 12.9%.^[43]

Annually the commune celebrates with a festival called 'La Pace' (English: 'The Peace'). It tells of a fictional peace between the Christians and the Saracens which was inspired by the town being spared during the Saracen Invasions of the 9th Century.^[15][44]

The municipality is crossed by the provincial road 55 which allows easy connection with the state road 87 Sannitica, as well as by the provincial roads 64, 66, 67 and 105.

The municipality is served by the Santa Croce del Sannio station on the Campobasso-Benevento line, located in the municipality of Morcone and active only for tourist purposes.^[45]

The municipality can also be reached by private bus companies on the Santa Croce-Benevento, Cercemaggiore-Naples line, with connections to Benevento and Naples.

• Giuseppe Maria Galanti (1743–1806), Economist
• Luigi Galanti (1756–1836), Geographer
• Girolamo Vitelli (1849–1935), Papyrologist