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The Countryside of Gambatesa
As the Provincial Map of Campobasso suggests, a comune is not only an village or town center, but also a territory with farmland and pastures and woods.
Below: some of the countryside of the Comune of Gambatesa. The structures near the farmhouse appear to be haystacks. This kind of farm is called a masseria or casino in dialect (although that is not the latter word's meaning in Italian.)
The photographs were taken in September 1960. They have been taken at the Masseria Valente ("Valente Farm") or at Michele Valente's farm.
The Altitude of Gambatesa and of some Nearby Villages
Gambatesa's Height Above Sea Level: 1,536 ft. This is roughly 3 times the height of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., which is 555 feet tall.
| Location relative to Gambatesa |
Village Name |
Altitude |
| To the East: |
Volturino (Fg) |
2,412 ft |
| To the South: |
Riccia |
2,297 ft |
| Tufara |
1,378 ft |
| To the West: |
Jelsi |
1,903 ft |
| Gildone |
2,034 ft |
| To the North: |
Pietracatella |
2,329 ft |
[Road map showing Gambatesa and the villages above (except Volturino)]
The Population of Gambatesa
from 1532 to 2001
Census
Year |
Number of
Households |
| 1532 |
322 |
| 1545 |
332 |
| 1561 |
361 |
| 1595 |
346 |
| 1648 |
291 |
| 1669 |
70 |
Notes: There was plague in Gambatesa in 1656-1657. The Italian word here translated "households" is fuochi, meaning: "fires" -- i.e. hearths.
Census
Year |
Number of
Inhabitants |
| 1780 |
1,891 |
| 1795 |
2,400 |
| 1835 |
2,903 |
| 1861 |
2,947 |
| 1871 |
? |
| 1881 |
3,078 |
| 1901 |
3,416 |
| 1911 |
3,689 |
| 1921 |
3,572 |
| 1931 |
? |
| 1936 |
3,241 |
| 1951 |
3,164 |
| 1961 |
3,039 |
| 1971 |
? |
| 1981 |
? |
| 1991 |
2,045 |
| 2001 |
1,737 |
| 2011 |
1,635 |
The Populations of the Nearby Villages above:
| Name of Village |
1961 Census |
1991 Census |
2001 Census |
| Volturino |
3,364 |
2,224 |
1,992 |
| Riccia |
7,147 |
6,176 |
5,701 |
| Tufara |
1,821 |
1,256 |
1,120 |
| Jelsi |
2,966 |
2,040 |
1,917 |
| Gildone |
2,016 |
962 |
859 |
| Pietracatella |
3,137 |
1,696 |
1,600 |
Related Page: Map showing Gambatesa's location in Molise, with a table listing Gambatesa's distance from major provincial capital cities in Italy from north to south.
Above: a boy watching over his family's sheep in Gambatesa, September 1960. This is also what Giovanni Valente did when he was a child in Gambatesa.
The URL of this page:
https://www.roangelo.net/valente/country2.html
Last revised: 28 October 2006 : 2006-10-28 by
Robert [Wesley] Angelo.
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