In 1987, on the lower slopes of the Matese, excavations here turned up graves in which the horseman was buried with his horse, alongside grave goods of Central Asian workmanship so unusual that the Mongolian Academy of Sciences took an interest. The theory is that these were Hunnic riders, scattered after their defeats by Rome and later recruited as mercenaries by the Lombards.
The village, 637 residents, sits where the Biferno rises and the Pescasseroli-Candela drove road passes through. Above the houses stand the three hills known as Torrette, which in Samnite times really were watchtowers; the municipality falls within the WWF oasis of Guardiaregia-Campochiaro, 2,187 hectares, Italy's second largest.
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📅 Every year, on 25 April
Campochiaro celebrates Saint Mark on 25 April; excavations carried out in 1987 uncovered tombs containing horse and rider with rich grave goods of Central Asian origin, possibly belonging to Hunnic mercenaries in Lombard service.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
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Outside Campochiaro, but an easy day trip away.
