Venafro guards the upper Volturno where the road from Capua and the Terra di Lavoro enters the Molise and the Abruzzi, under its castle on the slope of Monte Santa Croce.
Joined to the county of Molise in the eleventh century and counted later as part of the Terra di Lavoro, it is a bishop's town on the frontier of the German captains' country. Diepold held it for a time in 1198-99; in June 1200 he will defeat Peter of Celano before its walls, and on 23 June 1201 Peter and Walter of Brienne will take it back.
Who holds it
- Name
- Holder not pinned; the bishop of Venafro not pinned
- Title
- Bishop's town on the Volturno
- Confidence
- low
Lord in 1200
Not pinned. Diepold held it for a time after November 1198 (DBI); after his capture in March 1199 his hold lapsed, and in June 1200 he had to march on it again, so on 1 January it is presumably in the hands of its own people or the regency's friends.
Overlord
The crown of Sicily.
How things stand that morning
Not under German control that morning as far as the evidence shows, but the nearest target for Diepold's men at Rocca d'Arce and for Markward's garrisons in the Molise.
Charter
Not recorded.
Council
Not recorded.
Communities
Latin townsmen.
Fairs and markets
Not recorded.
Militia
Not recorded.
Walls and castle
Castle (the later Castello Pandone grew from a Lombard keep) and walls.
Trade and crafts
Olive groves and the road junction of the upper Volturno.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- June 1200Diepold marches on Venafro and routs Peter of Celano before it; Peter's son Berardo is captured. Venafro passes to the German party.Depends on: Diepold's campaign and Peter giving battle Stopped by: A papal or regency army on the Volturno, or Peter declining battle
Where the sources disagree
- Kamp and the DBI life of Diepold put the battle before Venafro in June 1200; it.wikipedia (Pietro da Celano) has clashes from March 1200.
Evidence: Richard of San Germano via Kamp and the DBI; the holder on 1 January is inferred.
On the map: The tierra is the town's near land, shared out by distance; towns of the kingdom did not govern a contado as the communes of the Papal State did.
Primary sources for Sicily
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Montecassino; Annals of Ceccano (Fossanova) (12th and early 13th centuries; Ceccano to 1217). Two sets of annals from either side of the papal and Sicilian frontier. Read online
- Chronicle of Richard of San Germano, Richard of San Germano (first version about 1216, enlarged to 1243). The fullest southern narrative of the Hohenstaufen kingdom, written by a notary on the border of the Terra di Lavoro. Read online
- Annals of Genoa, by Caffaro and his continuators, with Ogerio Pane for 1197 to 1219, Ogerio Pane and the other official annalists of Genoa (year by year under the commune's authority; the 1197 to 1219 section by Ogerio Pane). The official record of the commune. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Chronicle of Sicard, bishop of Cremona, Sicard of Cremona (about 1210 to 1213). A universal chronicle whose last part is a well-placed eyewitness account by a Lombard bishop who served emperors and popes. Read online
- The Deeds of Innocent III, Anonymous (a curial official, perhaps Peter of Benevento) (about 1208 to 1209). The curia's own account of the pontificate's first decade, with letters copied in. Read online
7 more in the sources library for Southern Italy and the Islands.
Sources and studies
- N. Kamp, 'Celano, Pietro di', Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 23 (1979), treccani.it
- 'Dipoldo di Schweinspeunt', Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (treccani.it)
- Venafro (it.wikipedia)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.