John Fort

A taste of the Ciocaria

[This article first appeared in "Wanted in Rome" in March 2005]

A good map of Lazio is advised for the following trip, because, once off the autostrada, the roads twist in all directions, but it will be needed again in the future and not wasted. It is also a good idea to set off early, in order to avoid closed churches.

Down the A1 towards Naples for about 70 kms and off at Frosinone. Averting the eyes from this unattractive city, skirt round it and head south towards Sora. This area, once the heartland of the Hernici, one of the ancient peoples of Latium, finally subjugated by the Romans in 306 BC, is watered by the rivers Sacco and Liri, has always been prosperous, and consequently has plentiful splendid buildings and monuments from the fifth century BC up to the eighteenth century AD.

After about 10 kms, turn off to the left to towards Veroli; park outside the Porta Romana and proceed on foot. High up to the left is the most ancient part of the city, where the Hernici, with an eye to the evident defensive possibilities of the site, built an acropolis, whose remains are still visible here and there amongst the subsequent jumble of medieval houses and churches. However, time is limited, and the visitor should proceed to today's centre, which is up the hill from the Porta Romana and to the right. Seek out the two main monuments. First, the church of S. Maria Salome, the mother of the apostles John and James the Greater, who for no very clear reason is buried here. This comely church, set in an attractive ecclesiastical complex, dates back to the thirteenth century, but has been damaged by earthquakes over the centuries and much altered. There are some interesting thirteenth-century frescoes in the crypt, but what makes the church unique is its own Scala Santa, declared by Benedict XIV in the 1740s to be on a par with that in Rome and functioning as a convenient and local means to indulgences. Nearby is the cathedral of S. Andrea, not particularly distinguished architecturally on account of rebuilding, but containing an unexpectedly rich treasury. The most important piece, a twelfth-century Arabo-Sicilian ivory casket was sold to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1863, but there are more similar caskets left, mediaeval crosses, chalices and church plate in silver.

Now on through Veroli, out the other side, and onto the road which loops round to the north towards the Certosa of Trisulti. After some twelve kms the enormous and spectacular monastery comes into view on the left; founded in the thirteenth century by Carthusians and constantly augmented up to the eighteenth century, it sits in majestic isolation in the middle of vast expanses of oak forest. The earlier parts are constructed with beautiful stone ogival arches, including the very fine, much rebuilt church of St Bartholomew; there is also a most handsome and well-preserved seventeenth-century pharmacy, heavily decorated with allegorical painted ceilings and complete with a great range of glass and ceramic jars.

From here, down an infinity of bends, past Collepardo, with caves beloved by speleologists and the so-called Pozzo d'Antullo, a vast hole in the ground, 140 metres across, 50 metres deep, and one of the most interesting natural phenomena in Italy, all visitable but perhaps not today, to Alatri, another Hernici stronghold, with the best-preserved Cyclopean walls in Italy. The acropolis has dominated the surrounding plain since the fifth century BC and is still visible from many kilometres away; the extraordinary walls were built in concentric circles and emerge all over the town, as simple walls or as foundations or lower floors of later buildings. The cathedral, planted right at the top on a base of huge polygonal cut stones, once part of an ancient cult building, and the church of S. Maria Maggiore, are picturesque and interesting, but will by now be shut; so have a quick walk around the historic centre of this handsome place, making sure not to miss the magnificent Porta Maggiore, wonder, as travellers have for over two thousand years, at the monstrous size of the polygonal stones and the precision with which they are cut, and then stop and lunch in one of the several excellent but simple trattorie.

Now head towards Ferentino, also girt by Cyclopean walls and with interesting historic centre, but perhaps not meriting a visit today, and on to Anagni, one of the most perfectly preserved mediaeval cities in Italy and absolutely not to be missed. Anagni was a veritable factory for popes in the thirteenth century, producing four between 1198 and 1294, including the Bonifacio VIII, inventor of the Jubilee, and the magnificence of the fine stone buildings throughout most of the extensive historic centre reflects this importance. The austere, gothic Palazzo Comunale, thirteenth-century and built over a wide vaulted passage, is superb, while the Romanesque duomo is of world class, with a very beautiful detached campanile, naves divided by alternating round and square piers, and, most importantly, a lavishly frescoed crypt. Due to the unvarying temperature and humidity of the crypt, these frescoes, painted by an unknown artist around 1250, are extraordinarily well-preserved and brilliant, depicting Old and New Testament scenes and ones illustrating scientific knowledge of the time, particularly in the field of medicine. There is a treasury here too, with vestments, church plate and vessels and an exquisite reliquary of St Thomas à Becket, fashioned in gilt and Limoges enamel. The visitor could do worse than dine in Anagni, as there is a very good choice of trattorie.