On the town's name, there is no unanimity of views: for some historians, it derives from the greek "larinos" (loud), while for others, it is linked to the Latin word "laridum" (lard). Another school of thought, finally, attests that it derives from the Etruscan word "lar" (head or principal). Municipality in the province of Campobasso, located at the stream Cigno, a tributary of the river Biferno, Larino is surrounded by green olive trees and a lush countryside. It is an active agricultural center with an important presence of well preserved artistic and archaeological evidence. The old town is rich in monuments of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, such as: Palazzo Ducale, the watchtowers and the noble villas.
Former center of the Frentani, it was of great importance in the past, highly quoted by Cicero in his oration "Pro Cluentio. The fertile soil attracted the Romans, that have left here considerable traces of their presence. It was also the scenario of the battle between Hannibal and the Romans in 207 B.C. During the medieval period, Larino became a County and was frequently subject to looting and destruction. Hordes of Saracens and Hungarians reached the town, bringing death and destruction, and for these reasons the inhabitants were forced to move from the primary urban center to a better defensible site.

Attractions:
- the Cathedral, entitled to the Madonna of Assumption and to San Pardo, whose construction was completed in 1319. It presents an elegant façade, in Romanesque-Gothic style, on to which opens a majestic portal surmounted by a big rose window, artwork of the Petrini. The bell tower, with its square base, was built between the XV and XVI centuries. The church features three naves separated by pointed arches, with a square apse vault, interrupted by an arched window and is decorated with frescoes of the XIV and XVI centuries. It also preserves an XVIII century statue of the Madonna, artwork of Solimena and several paintings dating from the XVI and XVII centuries. In the sacristy there is a throne and a polychrome marble high altar, both artworks of the artist Troccoli;
- the archaeological area of Laurinum, located in the district of San Leonardo, in which, among others, there is a pre-Roman altar with inscriptions and dedications. Most of the ruins are of the Imperial era, dating back to the first century A.D. and not far from these, recently excavated, an Hellenistic structure with a superb painted floor;
- the Town Hall, also seat of the Public Library, preserves precious Roman mosaics, the remains of a floor of the III century B.C. and a XIV century wooden statue of the Virgin.