Lazio
-
The megalithic walls of Alatri, where stone is timeless
The civita of Alatri stood on the slope of a hill above a stream, a branch of the Liri river. There, five hundred metres above the sea level, was the acropolis of the ancient city. Still visible are the quadrangular base of a small temple in Tuscan order, a reconstruction of which is now in […]
-
The mysterious Christ in the labyrinth of Alatri
Alatri, 1997. During restoration work on a room adjacent to the cloister of Saint Francis church, some colours faded by time emerged from a narrow passage. The building was erected starting in 1220 and its adjoining convent dates back to 1359 [1]. Certainly the unexpected room, lost in the oblivion of time, was probably part […]
-
Casamari Abbey, the sobriety of the Cistercians
The birth of the Ordo cisterciensis can be compared to a journey back to the origins of monasticism. Thus, when Robert of Molesme in 1098 decided to establish a new monastery at Cîteaux he felt the need to rediscover that profound sense of the sacred that had characterized the monks of the early centuries. The […]
-
Hadrian, the sensibility of an emperor
The Historia Augusta, a 4th century source by an unknown author, transcribes the words of the Emperor Hadrian facing death: “Animula vagula blandula, hospes comesque corporis Quae nunc abibis in loca Pallidula rigida nudula Nec ut soles dabis iocos” (Historia Augusta, Adriano) “Little soul, gentle and drifting, guest and companion of my body, now you […]
-
Valvisciolo Abbey in Sermoneta, a Templar site
On the slopes of Monte Corvino, where the Lepini Mountains look towards the Agro Pontino, there is an abbey distinguished by beauty and simplicity. Valvisciolo Abbey seems to exist in this place since eternity, but its origins are uncertain and lost in time. The forgotten origins of Valvisciolo Lubin, the most ancient and important historian […]