Frosinone: its destiny written by the history

 

 Panaromic View of Frosinone, kindly provided by the Council of Frosinone. 

 

Frusino, is the ancient name of the Capital Town of Ciociaria. It was the land of the Volsci, an early Italic population, proud opponent of the Romans. Frusino fought for centuries against the Romans till the final defeat of 386 bC, when the Chief were slaughtered by the Romans and the town became a Roman Municipium. The inhabitants of this small capital are ever since  known for their indomitable and boastful spirit. During the II punic war (219-202 BC) Frusino, although devastated, didn't want to surrender to Hannibal, that's why Silius Italicus, the Latin Epic Poet of the Nero Age,  mentioned the patriotic souls of its inhabitants and he called this town "Bellator Frusino"  which means  "Fighting Frusino" and  still today this phrase is in its coat of arms. From the early medieval age, the province of Frosinone belonged to the Roman Pontifical State until the unification of Italy on March 17, 1861. The modern province of Frosinone was created in 1927 and it includes 91 communes.

 

                           Frosinone at the end of World War II - picture kindly provided by the Provincial Library of Frosinone.

 

Frosinone has been destroyed and rebuilt several times during the last centuries, because of its strategical position along the ancient "Via Latina". During World War II, it was bombed from september 1943 to May 1944 and razed to the ground by carpet bombings. The tragedy of the war has been represented in many movies but "La Ciociaria" is known worldwide for its realism. The movie "La Ciociara", title in English "Two Woman", is a 1962 Academy Award-winning Italian language film. It tells the story of a woman trying to protect her daughter from the horrors of the war. The story, based on the best seller Novel, written by Alberto Moravia, one of the greatest Italian writers of  the 20th century, denounces facts really happened in Ciociaria, at the end of World War II.  

  

 The Tower Bell of Frosinone, Drawing kindly provided by Willy Pocino, Director of the Cultural Magazine "Lazio Ieri e Oggi.

Frosinone,  my hometown, has been completely rebuilt after the war and the majority of sites, unfortunately, has been irreparably lost, but to those visitors willing "to see", it offers invaluable memories and surprising glimpses. To finish up with this painful chapter of war and destruction, I like to mention that our Bell Tower, although bombed, during World War II, it didn't fall down but remained still as you see it today: Isn't that a clear proof of  the resilience of this Town?

 The Historical Carnival of Frosinone is an occasion for the whole community to gather together. Each year on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, there is the historical rievocation of an event really happened. The French General Jean Antoine Etiennè Vachier known as Championnet, who occupied the area, was in the near Anagni on 19 february 1799, when he was advised that the inhabitants of Frusino were on riot. He soon decided to come over with his troops, to found out  they were only celebrating the Carnival. The symbol of this festival is an Agave leaf called in slang “Radeca”. Even nowdays, If you want to partecipate you must first accept to be beaten with the Radeca (done very softly I swear). So to end up with our story, …”to join this festival the french General Championnet accepted to be beaten – what a chance for the people to beat the invasor! Nowdays a string of floats, from outlying towns and villages decorated with various allegorical motifs, go through the streets and are followed by the crowd. The king of this parade is, of course, The General Championet which is brought on tour in the historical centre. The final act is the burning of the scarlo of Championnet. The pipers lead the way to the sound of joyful tunes. Then, however, the band falls silent, and a single piper accompanied by a single drummer plays the sad notes of the "Funeral March. Finally, the partecipants reach the most traditional borough of Frosinone, called “Giardini” that is “gardens”;   there, plenty of wine and food, prepared by the local people, is offered to everyone! Why don’t you come along! Next date is Tuesday, 5 February 2008.

Our Lady of the Snow , the Bandits and the Fountain.

 

The most important church in the city of Rome dedicated to Our Lady is the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, erected around the year 352, during the reign of Pope Liberius. ( 352-366 ) According to legend, a member of an aristocratic family, John and his wife were childless and prayed that the Blessed Mother might designate an heir to bequeath their wealth. They were favored with a dream in which Our Lady appeared to them on the night of August 4-5. She requested that they build a church in her honor on the Esquiline hill and the sign to accompany this dream is that the exact location would be marked out in snow. During that hot summer evening, a miraculous snowfall traced the form of the basilica on the hill. Our Lady also appeared to Pope Liberius in a dream that same night so that he too could arrive at the location to see the miraculous snowfall. Many people gathered to see the unusual event of snow glistening in the August sun. Upon awakening, John and his wife rushed to the site and Pope Liberius arrived in solemn procession. Realizing that the snow marked the exact location of the church, the people staked off the area before the snow melted. The basilica was completed within two years and consecrated by Pope Liberius.

Now, coming to present times, in the borough of "Madonna della Neve" (Our Lady of the Snow), there is a sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady. At the beginning of the 18th century, this area was infested by bandits, mainly coming from the State of Naples, which border was just a few km away. The Pope, at that time, was Sixtus V. He, then, decided to sent over the Cardinal Domenico Ginnasi to solve the matter and put to death all the bandits. The Cardinal did not agree with the punishment but nevertheless had to obey  the orders; so he decide to built a little chapel here for the criminals before sending them to the gallows and he decorated this little chaaple with  a fresco dedicated to Our Lady of The Snows with the Patron Saints of Frosinone.  The Sanctuary has been completely rebuilt after the war, just as it was before, only the fresco had survived the bombing. You can still admire it in the central nave of the Church. The other famous monument of this area is a monumental fountain, located in the near Piazza, built by the Marquis De Carolis, in 1711  as ex voto  to Our Lady.

http://www.madonnadellaneve.frosinone.it/

Highlight: Don't miss the Antique fair, held here on 5th August and the last sunday of October.