The famous bells of Agnone

Agnone, also known as the town of bells: we are in the Alto-Molise Apennines. It was once the industrial center of transhumance, which has affected Puglia, Molise and Abruzzo for many centuries. Today, its main wealth can be seen in the historic center from a religious point of view: we are talking about the churches of Agnone, which are the best known in all of Molise. There is the church of Sant'Emilio with its Gothic style portal, dating back to the early 1300s; there is the church of San Marco which already at the beginning of 1100 was the mother church of the village and, moreover, it is possible to admire the national monument of San Francesco d'Assisi. Once in Agnone the artifacts that were used by the farms of Puglia and Abruzzo but also copper were introduced: this contributed to the immigration of many artisans to Agnone, among these there were the goldsmiths from Venice and the bell masters. Today the bells in Agnone, famous throughout Italy, are worked in the same way as a thousand years ago, also using the same materials and making this art a cultural and traditional treasure of the village. It is also important to remember the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1995.