In the heart of the Molise countryside, in the district of Grimaldi in the territory of Pietracatella, stands the ancient complex called Casino Grimalda. This building complex represents a valuable historical and architectural heritage, inherited from the noble family Ceva Grimaldi, last feudal lords of the town
between the 16th and 19th centuries.
The Grimalda Casino is developed around an internal
courtyard, delimited by various buildings and sections of walls. The entire structure was formed through building stratifications, especially during the 18th century, on the remains of a pre-existing Benedictine convent: Santa Maria di Casalpiano.. This convent, linked to the Abbey of Montecassino, was known since the fourteenth century as Ecclesia S. Margherita in Casali Plano, as documented by the “Raziones decimarum” between 1308 and 1310.
Over time, with the passing of the property to the Grimaldi
family, the convent was transformed into a large agricultural estate. The original rooms were converted into rural houses, stables and barns, but maintaining the rectangular plan of the old convent. Even today, crossing the main entrance, you can recognize the original spaces: on the right the old chapel, in the center the area of the cloister (now disappeared but with the original well still present), to the left the cells of the monks. The walls retain traces of doors and windows that tell of a monastic
past now distant.
The Romanesque-Gothic church of Santa Margherita,located in the northern corner of the inner garden, is a particularly valuable element. Separated from the rest of the buildings, it is one of the best preserved parts of the entire complex and represents the core of the spiritual memory of the site.
Casalpiano was abandoned by the monks after the earthquake of 1456 and remained uninhabited until its recovery as a rural seat in the eighteenth century. Today Villa Grimalda is not only a place of memory but also a symbol of the continuity between sacred and profane, between monastic past and agricultural tradition molisana. A site that deserves attention, protection and enhancement.