The Legend of the Green Count
(From notes written by Mario Gramegna)
Everyone knows, especially among the rural population near the hamlet of S. Stefano di Campobasso, that the Green Count, Amedeo VI of Savoy, came to Molise and died there. It was the year 1283 when the Count, coming from Palestine, where he had fought in defense of Christianity with a thousand soldiers aligned with Louis of Anjou, a claimant to the throne of Naples, against Charles of Durazzo, camped in the village of S. Stefano, eight kilometers from Campobasso. His reputation as a generous warrior and distinguished gentleman immediately won him the sympathy of that rural population. When he was struck by the plague, which raged in the southern regions that year, a general anguish took hold of all those who loved him. Care, prayers, and medicines were of no avail: consumed by the unforgiving disease, despite the strength of his constitution, he died peacefully and with dignity on March 1st of that year.
The grief was universal, the sorrow immense: the weeping inhabitants of the humble village followed the cortege, escorted by loyal soldiers, towards Piedmont, bidding farewell to one who had not burdened their possessions to supply the army, nor had he allowed, as unfortunately happened during temporary occupations, any disrespect to be shown to anyone. Along the way, they scattered wildflowers that the budding spring had already spread abundantly.
This event, so deeply rooted in the popular imagination and the generous sentiment of the humble people, who more than anyone else can perceive certain nuances, inspired the painter De Lisio in the fresco that can be admired in the hall of the Bank of Italy in Campobasso.
(From notes written by Mario Gramegna)
Everyone knows, especially among the rural population near the hamlet of S. Stefano di Campobasso, that the Green Count, Amedeo VI of Savoy, came to Molise and died there. It was the year 1283 when the Count, coming from Palestine, where he had fought in defense of Christianity with a thousand soldiers aligned with Louis of Anjou, a claimant to the throne of Naples, against Charles of Durazzo, camped in the village of S. Stefano, eight kilometers from Campobasso. His reputation as a generous warrior and distinguished gentleman immediately won him the sympathy of that rural population. When he was struck by the plague, which raged in the southern regions that year, a general anguish took hold of all those who loved him. Care, prayers, and medicines were of no avail: consumed by the unforgiving disease, despite the strength of his constitution, he died peacefully and with dignity on March 1st of that year.
The grief was universal, the sorrow immense: the weeping inhabitants of the humble village followed the cortege, escorted by loyal soldiers, towards Piedmont, bidding farewell to one who had not burdened their possessions to supply the army, nor had he allowed, as unfortunately happened during temporary occupations, any disrespect to be shown to anyone. Along the way, they scattered wildflowers that the budding spring had already spread abundantly.
This event, so deeply rooted in the popular imagination and the generous sentiment of the humble people, who more than anyone else can perceive certain nuances, inspired the painter De Lisio in the fresco that can be admired in the hall of the Bank of Italy in Campobasso.