Pignataro Interamna

Leaving Cassino and heading towards the coast, one can follow either the expressway to Formia or, on foot, the connector that joins the route of the Via Francigena in the South along the Casilina Road and the Appian Way. This path was designed to allow walkers following the Appia to detour to reach and visit Montecassino and then continue on the variant that passes through Molise and rejoins the accredited route in Benevento.

In Pignataro Interamna, a municipality located in the Liri Valley, significant remains of elephants dating back to the Pleistocene have been found. The first fossil discoveries date back to the late 1700s. In 1816, a significant fossil specimen was located and handed over to the Abbey of Montecassino. In May 1926, on the estate – in the Fontanarosa area – owned by Saverio Tiseo, a specimen of "mastodon" was discovered, later identified by scientists as an individual of the species Elephas antiquus Falconer.

The length of the facial bones, from the muzzle to the top of the skull, was 1.43 m, the circumference of the skull was about 3 meters, and the tusks had a circumference of 50 cm and a length of 2.20 meters.

The remains were sold to the American Museum of Natural History in New York on December 3, 1928, and in May of the following year, they were transferred to the United States of America. In March 1931, Hosborn published an accurate osteological study of the magnificent skull of Pignataro Interamna.

The Pleistocene deposit of Pignataro Interamna is marked in the Fontanarosa area with a giant sign. It depicts a Pleistocene landscape as well as the various stages of discovery of the skeletons of Elephas antiquus, including the one from 1949.