Not the most beautiful or the most interesting in the town, its present appearance is the result of continuous restorations and transformations over the years. And yet this building tells one of the most heartfelt and popular traditions of the town: the Agnone Christmas! Linked to a story of copper artisans, Christmas for us begins on 21 November, the day of the festival of the Madonna delle Grazie, with a sweet melody, that of the “Pastorale Agnonese“ by maestro Filippo Gamberale. We have to give a hint of what it’s all about: The profound religiosity of the Agnone copper workers could not be reconciled with their itinerant trade, which kept them far away from the affection of their families, and from their traditions, for long periods of the year. The last journey of the year that our Agnone artisan-traders made, aimed at supplying the neighboring regions with their artefacts, began on 21 November — and would keep them away for a month, most of the time until Christmas Eve. So they all went together to the parish priest of the parish of San Pietro to propose that they move the Christmas Pastorale up to 21 November, festival of the Madonna delle Grazie that they celebrated there. The parish priest promised and kept the promise. Who knows how much persuading he had to do to the Bishop of Trivento to “override” the entire liturgical season of Advent! The fact is that the Pastorale, previously played and sung with the first vespers on 24 December, began to be sung on 21 November!
Thus Agnone was the only town to enjoy this privilege. A privilege that is still felt with deep shared faith by all the citizens!
Additional information
Via Montebello
Usually open to the public and can be visited at any time of the year. Time needed for a visit 45 minutes.
