Description
Piazza dell'Olmo is a small square in the old town of Campobasso, among the stone alleys that climb toward the castle. It owes its name to an elm (olmo) that once grew here, and it's tied to a saying still alive in the city.
"Buying wine at the Olmo," people say in Campobasso. The expression is said to come from a renowned wine cellar that stood on the square and kept excellent cool wine in its underground caves: a 1587 deed by the notary Francesco Angelo Prunaro mentions it.
Those caves are part of the old town's dug-out underground. For centuries stone was quarried from it to build the palaces, and after the earthquake of 1456 Count Cola di Monforte linked many of the cavities into a network of tunnels for military purposes.
"Buying wine at the Olmo," people say in Campobasso. The expression is said to come from a renowned wine cellar that stood on the square and kept excellent cool wine in its underground caves: a 1587 deed by the notary Francesco Angelo Prunaro mentions it.
Those caves are part of the old town's dug-out underground. For centuries stone was quarried from it to build the palaces, and after the earthquake of 1456 Count Cola di Monforte linked many of the cavities into a network of tunnels for military purposes.