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Alatri ( la, Aletrium) is an Italian town and ''
comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...
'' of the
province of Frosinone The Province of Frosinone ( it, Provincia di Frosinone) is a province in the Lazio region of Italy, with 91 '' comuni'' (singular: ''comune''; see Comuni of the Province of Frosinone). Its capital is the city of Frosinone. It has an area ...
in the region of
Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, with c. 30,000 inhabitants. An ancient city of the Hernici,Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hernici". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). it is known for its
megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...
ic
acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
.


History

The area of the modern city was settled as early as the 2nd millennium BC. ''Aletrium'' was a town of the Hernici which, together with
Veroli Veroli ( la, Verulae) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, central Italy, in the Latin Valley. History Veroli (''Verulae'') became a Roman municipium in 90 BC. It became the seat of a bishopric in 743 AD, and was occup ...
,
Anagni Anagni () is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Latium, central Italy, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical and artistic center of the Latin Valley. Geography Overview Anagni still maintains the appear ...
and
Ferentino Ferentino is a town and ''comune'' in Italy, in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, southeast of Rome. It is situated on a hill above sea level, in the Monti Ernici area. History ''Ferentinum'' was a town of the Hernici; it was captured from th ...
, formed a defensive league against the
Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...
and the
Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they ...
around 550 BC. In 530 they allied with Tarquinius Superbus' Rome, confirming the Etruscan influence in the area attested also by archaeology. Alatri was defeated by Rome in 306 BC and forced to accept the citizenship. In
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the est ...
's time it was a ''
municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...
,''Pais, Ettore, ''Storia della colonizzazione di Roma antica'', Roma, 1923 and continued in this position throughout the imperial period. After the fall of the
Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
, the city decayed, the only respected authority being represented by the Christian bishop. During the reign of
Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy ...
(5th century AD) the patrician Liberius promoted the construction of a monastic community, one of the most ancient in the West, where in 528
St. Benedict Benedict of Nursia ( la, Benedictus Nursiae; it, Benedetto da Norcia; 2 March AD 480 – 21 March AD 548) was an Italian Christian monk, writer, and theologian who is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Orient ...
sojourned briefly. In 543, during the Gothic Wars, Alatri was sacked and destroyed by
Totila Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the t ...
's troops. In the 12th century the city became an important stronghold of the popes when they were obliged to leave the then unsafe Rome. In the following century it became a free commune, although under the authority of the bishops and the pope, governed by
consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...
s until 1241, when a ''
podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...
'' was introduced. In the following centuries it flourished economically and expanded, conquering Collepardo, Guarcino,
Trivigliano Trivigliano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about east of Rome and about northwest of Frosinone, in the Monti Ernici The Monti Ernici (Italian: "Mountains of the Hernici") are a ...
, Vico and
Frosinone Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the ...
, though often hampered by inner strife. In the 15th century Alatri started to lose its freedom, due to the involvement of
Ladislaus of Naples Ladislaus the Magnanimous ( it, Ladislao, hu, László; 15 February 1377 – 6 August 1414) was King of Naples from 1386 until his death and an unsuccessful claimant to the kingdoms of Hungary and Croatia. Ladislaus was a skilled political and m ...
and
Pope Martin V Pope Martin V ( la, Martinus V; it, Martino V; January/February 1369 – 20 February 1431), born Otto (or Oddone) Colonna, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 November 1417 to his death in February 1431. Hi ...
. After the short seigniory of
Filippo Maria Visconti Filippo Maria Visconti (3 September 1392 – 13 August 1447)
in 1434, the city had to accept papal
suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...
. Struggles with the neighbouring communes continued, and in 1556 it was occupied by Spanish soldiers. During the
Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingd ...
, it remained loyal to the pope. During the Napoleonic occupation (1809–1814) numerous members of the papal administration, as well as bishop Giuseppe della Casa, were deported to France. It became part of
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
in 1870. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
it suffered heavy destruction and human victims.


Main sights


Ancient remains

Alatri has well-preserved
polygonal In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed '' polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two t ...
fortifications constructed from well jointed local
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...
. It is almost entirely an embanking wall, as is the rule in the cities of this part of Italy, with a maximum height, probably, of about . Two of the gates (of the perhaps five once existing) are still to some extent preserved, and three
postern A postern is a secondary door or gate in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often located in a concealed location which allowed the occupants to come and go inconspicuously. In the event of a siege, a poster ...
s are to be found. In the centre of the city rises a hill which was adopted as the citadel. Remains of the fortifications of three successive periods can be traced, of which the last, perhaps a little more recent than that of the city wall, is the best preserved. In the first two periods the construction is rough, while in the third the blocks are very well jointed, and the faces smoothed; they are mostly polygonal in form and are much larger (the maximum about 3 by 2 m) than those of the city wall. A flat surface was formed partly by smoothing off the rock and partly by the erection of huge terrace walls which rise to a height of over , enclosing a roughly rectangular area of . Two approaches to the citadel were constructed, both passing through the wall; the openings of both are rectangular. The architrave of the larger, known as ''Porta Maggiore'', measures about in length, in height, in thickness; while that of the smaller is decorated with three '' phalli'' in relief. Later, though probably in ancient times, a ramp was added on the northern side. In the centre of the ''arx'' was a building on the site of the present cathedral, of which only a small portion is preserved. Remains of a high-pressure aqueduct, which supplied the town with water and was constructed with other public buildings by L. Betilienus Varus, may still be traced. A temple was excavated in 1889 about a half-mile north of the town, and many fragments of the painted terracottas with which it was decorated were found. A reconstruction of it has been erected in the National Etruscan Museum at Rome.


Other

* Cathedral of San Paolo: main church, documented since 930, has
Cosmatesque Cosmatesque, or Cosmati, is a style of geometric decorative inlay stonework typical of the architecture of Medieval Italy, and especially of Rome and its surroundings. It was used most extensively for the decoration of church floors, but was also u ...
decorations dated to 1222, although the external facade is from a late–18th-century restoration. The layout is that of a Greek cross plan, with a long
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building with ...
. One of the relics in the church, is the late 13th-century ''Ostia Incarnata''; according to tradition it was a eucharistic wafer that miraculously
transubstantiated Transubstantiation (Latin: ''transubstantiatio''; Greek: μετουσίωσις ''metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of th ...
into flesh. *''
Collegiata of Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore is a church in Alatri, Latium, central Italy. It was founded in the 5th century, over the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to Venus, although it was mentioned for the first time in 1137. It was later renovated in Roma ...
'':
collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a Church (building), church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college (canon law), college of canon (priest), canons: a non-monastic or secular clergy, "secular" community of clergy, organis ...
likely first erected in the 5th century atop the site of a temple of
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...
. First mentioned in 1137, it was restored in Romanesque times and largely rebuilt in the 13th century by craftsmen from
Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...
. The façade has a large 14th-century
rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window ...
. The three gates have frescoed lunettes with, in the central one, a ''Madonna with Child'' from the late 14th century. The bell tower was added in 1394; until an earthquake in 1654, it had a cusp cover. The sober interior has a nave and two aisles divided by robust pilasters, with an inner
narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...
. The left chapels are from modern restorations. Among the artwork housed in the church, a ''Constantinopolis Madonna'' (13th century), the ''Redeemer Tryptych'' by Antonio di Alatri, and a ''Madonna with Child and St. Salvatore'' (early 15th century). *'' San Francesco'':
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
-style church built by the
Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
s in the late 13th century. It is a compact edifice with original gate and rose window similar to that of Santa Maria Maggiore. The interior has a single nave and Baroque decoration. It houses a ''Deposition'' painted by Neapolitan school (17th century), and partly ruined 15th-century frescoes. The most striking feature is however the relic of part of St. Francis' mantle, donated in 1222 to the city by the saint himself. *''Santo Stefano'': Church from (). Of the original edifice, only the main portal remains. *'' San Silvestro'': Church from (10th-11th centuries). It has two naves, the second added in 1331. The simple and evocative interior houses a precious fresco depicting ''St Sylvester and the Dragon'' (12th century). The crypt (9th century) has a fresco of a ''Blessing Saint'' in Byzantine style. *'' Chiesa degli Scolopi'' (1734–1745) * Gottifredo Palace (mid-13th century), the residence of the powerful feudatary cardinal Gottifredo di Raynaldo from Alatri. It is formed by two towerhouses in different styles. It houses the Town Museum. *Public Records Office: located in the Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore, the registry houses all public records including Births, Deaths and Marriages for the city going back to the 18th century. In the neighborhood are: *The Castle of Osteria di Alatri, also known as ''La Grancia di Tecchiena''. *The ''Badia di San Sebastiano'', built in the 6th century by Liberius. *''Chiesa delle XII Marie'' ("Church of the 12 Marys"), a small church from the early 15th century, with interesting frescoes of Saint by Antonio da Alatri


Subdivisions


Rioni

Alatri is divided into the following ''rioni'' (quarters): *Civette *Colle *Fiorenza *Piagge *Portadini *San Simeone *Santa Lucia *Sant'Anna *Sant'Andrea *Scurano *Spidini *Valle *Vineri


''Frazioni''

Chiappitto, Pacciano, Porpuro, Valle Santa Maria, Carvarola, Capranica, Fontana Vecchia, Maddalena, Piedimonte, Madonna delle Grazie, Melegranate, Montecapraro, Vignola, Valle Carchera, Montesantangelo, Montelarena, Pezza, Allegra, Basciano, Pignano, Castello, Collefreddo, Madonna del Pianto, Montelungo, Montereo, Monte San Marino, Pezzelle, Preturo, Sant'Antimo, San Valentino, Vallecupa, Vallefredda, Valle Pantano, Vallesacco, Valle S.Matteo, Villa Magna, Cassiano, Castagneto, Fraschette, Seritico, Santa Caterina, Vicero, Aiello, Canarolo, Collelavena, Costa San Vincenzo, Maranillo, Cavariccio, Colletraiano, Imbratto, Piano, S. Colomba, Scopigliette, Cucuruzzavolo, le Grotte, Magione, Mole Santa Maria, San Pancrazio, Vallemiccina, Sant'Emidio, Canale, Prati Giuliani, Quarticciolo, Quarti di Tecchiena, Tecchiena, Campello, Mole Bisleti, Cuione, Fontana Santo Stefano, Fontana Sistiliana, Frittola, S. Manno, Arillette, Collecuttrino, Colle del Papa, Laguccio, Montelena, Quercia d'Orlando, San Mattia, Carano, Fontana Scurano, Magliano, Cellerano, Fiume, Fiura, Fontana Santa, Riano, Abbadia, Case Paolone, Fontana Sambuco, Gaudo, Intignano, Colleprata.


International relations

Alatri is
twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...
with: * Clisson,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
, since 2000 * Dirfys,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wit ...
* Gétigné, France, since 2003 * Gorges, France, since 2003 * Ness Ziona, Israel * Saint-Lumine-de-Clisson, France, since 2000


References


Richard Stillwell, ed. ''Princeton Encyclopædia of Classical Sites'', 1976:
"Aletrium (Alatri), Italy"


External links


Official website
* {{authority control Cities and towns in Lazio