Macchia Valfortore

Macchia Valfortore is a town and "comune" in the Province of Campobasso, Molise, southern Italy.
History.
In 216 BC, a Roman army under consul Varro camped in the town called "Maccla", thought to be this town, prior to marching to the defeat against Hannibal at the Battle of Cannae. In 476 AD with the Western Roman Empire weakening, Maccla was occupied by the Visigoths. In the early Middle Ages it was a possession of the Lombards, who held it until 982, when they were defeated by the Byzantines.
On September 21, 1701, Gaetano Giacomo Gambacorta, styled the Prince of Macchia, started a conspiracy (Macchia Conspiracy), against the Spanish viceroy in Naples. The revolt was quickly put down and Gaetano fled to Vienna, Austria where he died on January 27, 1703. In 1800 Joseph Bonaparte, King of Naples and Napoleon's brother, divided Naples into new administrative orders. This created the Province of Campobasso which Macchia is located to this day. The suffix Valfortore was added in the 19th century.