The History of Monteroduni

Monteroduni is an ancient and certainly pre-Roman town. In 1881, the discovery of Neolithic tombs in the area now called 'Soccie' gave strength to this hypothesis. According to some, the present name Monteroduni derives from ROTA; while others suggest that it derives from OLOTRONUS, the ancient name of the Volturno River which crosses this land. Although there is no evidence that the first settlement was called ROTA; it’s sure that it was located in the area now called 'Paradiso'. In facts, according to many scholars, this area is the same described in the TABULA PEUTIGERIANA, where it’s called ROTA (named after the writer Conrad Peutinger, the Tabula was discovered in 1503 and it’s an old map showing routes of the Roman Empire).

It’s possible that the land of Monteroduni, which was very strategical for its closeness to the Matese and for the passage of armies, was the place where some battles between the Romans and the Samnites were played.

-In 1193 Monteroduni was destroyed and left without water for about 800 years. Several houses had wells and cisterns, fed by rainwater used only for household chores. There were many natural springs, still existing (Capotrio, San Nazzaro, La Fontana etc ....), which supplied water to drink. The first real and current waterworks in Monteroduni were designed in 1934 and tested in 1938. It has started to work since 14th September 1938.

Reliable sources reveal that Monteroduni was the first town of the area to have lighting. In fact, on 20th November 1883 the town had its first electric plant. On 28th October 1913 public lightning was inaugurated. The electricity was supplied by a plant that used the water of the lake itself, owned by Prince Pignatelli and located in Contrada S. Nazzaro.

The first post office in Monteroduni was established in 1881 and in 1899 a telegraph office was also set up.

The “Pandetta” was a toll fee inscribed on two stones of 1.90x1.60 mt. The stones were placed near the bridge which crossed the Lorda river, the natural boundary between the northern portions of the lands of Macchia d'Isernia and Monteroduni.

Since 1505 the tenure of Macchia and Monteroduni was held by one family, the Afflittos, but in 1564 Ludovico II D’Afflitto sold the land of Macchia to Giovanni Battista Ravaschieri. Giovanni Battista stated that he held Macchia and all the areas around and in 1570 he sold the tenure to Luigi della Marra. So, the tolls that must be paid in order to pass through the territory were two: the first fee had to be paid near the Lorda and the second one near the Cavalieri river, located between Isernia and Macchia. At first, when the original tenure was held by only one family, the toll was paid once, but when it was divided into two different tenures, people had to pay two different fees.

Anyway, such problems affected the entire Kingdom; so in 1569, the Duke of Alcala decided that the Summaria Court had to discuss and solve the issue. In turn, the court gave full power to decide to its President, Hannibal Moles.

In various papers filed in the Summaria Court, it’s written that in 1570 all the Barons of the Kingdom were invited to explain the reason for the tolls they required. For what concerns the case Macchia – Monteroduni, discussed in court in the same year, there’s a file describing Ravaschieri who shows papers in order to prove his right to require the toll inside his own tenure.