Santuario di Santa Maria di Canneto

In the Trigno valley below Roccavivara stands the Marian sanctuary of Santa Maria di Canneto, beside fields where Roman farmers once pressed oil and wine. Its plain façade opens onto three aisles carried on Roman columns.

Why it matters

Santa Maria di Canneto's history includes a place of worship documented in 706, when the site was ceded to the Benedictines of San Vincenzo al Volturno; a church rebuilt in the eleventh and twelfth centuries; and a monastic community that remained until 1474. The three aisles rest on Roman columns reused from earlier structures. A Roman farm lies behind the church, bringing ancient remains and the medieval sanctuary together in the same landscape.

What to notice

The façade is nearly bare of decoration. The three-naved hall has a timber trussed roof and stands on reused Roman columns. The twenty-five-metre bell tower was completed in 1329. The church lies in the Trigno valley near the confluence with the torrente Ponte Musa; remains of a Roman villa lie behind it.

Context and history

The name Canneto comes from the reeds that grew at the site. Written tradition records an earlier place of worship ceded in 706 to the Benedictines of San Vincenzo al Volturno, and the church took shape in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, with a later rebuilding around 1200 attributed to Abbot Raynaldo of Montecassino after raids and fires. The Benedictine community remained until 1474. A flood of the torrente Ponte Musa between 1845 and 1850 nearly buried the church under debris. Modern restoration is associated with Don Duilio Lemme, parish priest from 1929, whose repair and consolidation work brought the Roman villa to light. In 1870 the Bishop of Trivento obtained a plenary indulgence for the sanctuary from Pius IX. The church is dedicated to the Nativity of Mary.