Castle of Venafro

In Venafro, about twenty kilometers from Isernia, stands the Pandone castle which also houses the National Museum of Molise.
The origins of the castle are attributable to the Lombard period, with a series of extensions and transformations that culminate in the sixteenth century when the Pandone family transformed the structure into a real mansion, with the construction of the loggia, the garden, the moat and an original pictorial cycle.

Entering the main floor, you will find an extraordinary cycle of frescoes depicting a collection of horses, made in light relief and full-size, which will amaze you with realism and accuracy. Focus on the details of the original annotations: you can read not only the name of each horse but also the names of the donors.

Finally, go to the second floor. Here you will find a splendid display of frescoes, sculptures, canvases, prints and drawings, a dense excursus of the art of Molise that spans from early Christian age to modern age. There are many masterpieces on show, however we recommend a real gem: the alabaster polyptych of the fifteenth century, finely crafted in relief, one of the rare examples in Italy of polyptych of English production, still intact and well preserved.