Santa Maria dei Vignali Pescolanciano

Santa Maria dei Vignali is a Samnite fortification consisting of two concentric walls that enclose an area of about 6 hectares, developing in length for 760 m. It is no coincidence that the fortification rises overlooking the Castel di Sangro - Lucera sheep trail, one of the most important of the Apennine ridge and that for a good part develops in the heart of Sannio Pentro. It can be reached by proceeding along a path that in the cadastral maps is reported as "via S. Maria dei Vignali", while the whole area is popularly called "focal" for a strong concentration of flints. The same access way is supported downstream by heavy boulders artificially arranged. The fortification thus identified and with a perimeter of about 1,200 meters, stands as a fundamental element in the defensive system organized by the Samnites in the fourth century BC to counter the Roman invasion. The site was definitely abandoned in the period between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern age following serious seismic events that compromised the livability, in any case the place in question remains mentioned in the maps of the territory until the end of the eighteenth century.