“Never surrendered” is a bit of hyperbole, I think. The Samnites were known for resisting the Roman Republic. They were “mountain people” who fought at least 3 wars against the Romans, but per historians it seems that the Samnites were conquered around 290 BC
https://www.heritage-history.com/index.php?c=resources&s=war-dir&f=wars_samnite
Yeah, the locals have their own story of course. And their “passed down history” goes back a ways. Ruins just below Dad’s village are 1,500 years old. The village records are over a thousand years old. Village was moved uphill after a Duke built a castle on top of the mountain.
There’s a story about Rome sending a detachment to a Samnite village to mark the end of hostilities. The Samnites put on a play in their amphitheater about the conflict and at end the Samnite playing the lead character insulted the Romans. He was immediately killed with a spear by a Roman soldier and his angry expression was said to remain on his face after his death.