Castelforte

Castelforte is a common of the Province of Latina in the area Latium in Italy.

Commemorative event -->

Toponymy

The name Castelforte drift of Latin " Castrum Strong ". The adjective " Strong " is perhaps due to its excellent strategic position allowing the observation of the valley of the Garigliano and the mouth of the river which was formerly navigable.

Blazon and Étendard

The Commune of Castelforte has its own Blason and Standard, recognized by the Presidential decree of the Republic dated April 7th, 2003.

Heraldic description of the blazon

On bottom azure, three hills with Italian, of round form, of color silver plated, linked, that of the center higher and broader, being surmounted gold comet with eight rays, the lower ray merging with the undulating tail like a pillar. Under the escutcheon, on a stringcourse floating of color azure whose extremities are split into two, is the currency, in capital letters of black color, " FORTIS IN SUBLIMI ".

The ornament external of the blazon of Castelforte is characteristic of the " villes" , i.e with the top of the blazon, one finds a crown provided with turns there, formed by an open gold circle, including/understanding eight doors, five visible, with two brick lines at the ends, supporting eight turns, five visible, linked by curtains of brick, the whole of gold and walled of black.

The branch of oak indicates the force and constancy. The branch of bay-tree indicates the nobility and glory. The branches are tied by a ribbon with the national colors, i.e of green, white and red.

Standard (banner)

Yellow with the blazon in the medium.

Geography

Castelforte realizes hills of the Aurunci, on the plain of Garigliano and is the last agglomeration of the province of Latina, with a few kilometers of the seaside resorts of Scauri, hamlet on the commune of Minturno, of the Marina di Minturno, Formia and Gaète.

Castelforte is located at the south-eastern border of Latium and is separated from the Campanie by the Garigliano.

The historical center enjoys a panoramic position on the plain of Garigliano and the gulf of Gaète until the Volturno.

History

There does not exist any accurate information on the foundation of Castelforte even if certain specialists support that Castelforte was built on the ruins of the old town of Vescia , pertaining to the Pentapoli Aurunca , on the territory of the Aurunces, destroyed by the Romans in 340 av. J. - C.

A great quantity of old vestiges lie on all the territory of the commune. However, there does not exist any historical trace making it possible to go up (exactly) at the time pre-Roman and Roman, except for the traces connected to imposing the Terme Vescinae . These thermal baths of the 3rd century were located on the territory of current the thermal baths of Suio , one of its hamlets, and were very attended at the time imperial.

The origins of Castrum Fort go up before the year 1000. It is probable that the first inhabitants settled there between years 881 and 915 in order to flee the Sarrasins which had been established in the plain of Garigliano on Right Bank of the river.

The urban organization of Castrum Fort is characterized by a strengthened enclosure provided with circular keeps, a door of access and an imposing tower, benchmark and of communication with the other fortifications of the surroundings. The castle more close to Castrum Fort is Castrum Suji , in Suio.

Castelforte was closely related to the control of the properties of the monastery of Montecassino. The two castles were positioned so as to constitute an excellent point of observation and defense of Garigliano, at the time where there was an important river communication between Cassino and the Tyrrhenian Sea.

In the always called locality Vattaglia ( battles in dialect), there was in August 915 a battle between the troops of the Christian league guided by the pope Jean X and the Sarrasins. The battle of Garigliano was the final chapter of the war which drove out the Sarrasins Italian peninsula. The Christian victory put an end to the long period terror, burglings, of desolation and ruins in the zone of influence of the Abbaye of the Mount-Cassin also called the Terra di San Benedetto .

In October 1079, the Desiderio abbot conceded with the inhabitants of Suio the " Chartae libertatis " (" Charter of franchise"), as it had already done in 1061 for Traetto. This charter included a whole series of privileges.

In 1320, with the permission of the king Robert of Anjou, of the inhabitants of Castri Sugii settled in the plain to cultivate the fields but, because of the malaria, they left it for Castri Forte , the urban center most important of the area.

Consalvo de Cordova, which directed the Spanish army, stopped in Castelforte on December 29th, 1503 at the time of the battle of Garigliano which put an end to the French domination on the Southern Italy. A bridge was thrown to the feet of Suio which made it possible to attack the French troops by surprise.

The history of Castelforte and that of the commune of Santi Cosma E Damiano are very strongly dependant, but between the inhabitants of the two communes there always were complex relations of attraction and hostility related to the territorial questions. A first historical document going back to 1620 reveals the existence of a territorial dispute with the community of Santi Cosma E Damiano, then called “the Farms”, I Casali . The dispute which crossed the centuries perdure nowadays.

Between 1798-99, the Napoleonean troops dispossessed the sovereigns in all Italy. During this period, the inhabitants of Castelforte rose against the invader and contributed with two companies of volunteers to the troops of FRA Diavolo . The first company of 105 men was ordered by Filippo Gionta, the second of 93 men was ordered by Giuseppe Vellucci. The priest of Castelforte, Gift Benedetto Ciorra, formed part as chaplain of it. Castelforte was besieged by the free-Polish troops of the Dambroski general the Easter Day of 1799 and was overcome, which involved reprisals against the population of Castelforte. The number of died of Castelforte amounted to 34 to which must be added the losses of Santi Cosma E Damiano since the two cities had taken part together in the fight.

Because of its weak demography, Suio was annexed administratively in 1807 in Castelforte.

A cell of the type carbonarist, the Great Union of the Unit of Italy, inspired by the ideas of Mazzini was created in Castelforte. Several inhabitants of Castelforte were stopped, judged at the time of a long lawsuit in 1848 and imprisoned.

In 1943-1944, during the projection of the allied troops towards Rome, during more than nine months, Castelforte was exposed to ceaseless bombardments on behalf of the Alliés. Those aimed to transpierce the Ligne Gustave held by German. A hundred inhabitants of Castelforte died during these bombardments and much did not survive the maltreatment of the German occupant.

November 28th, 2002, the Commune of Castelforte was decorated, by the president of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, of the “Gold medal of the Civil Value” ( Medaglia d' Oro Al Valor Civile ) with the following mention: “ being in the center of furious and hard combat, Castelforte endured, in a spirit of resistance, the most terrible destruction like losses in human lives, while preserving always intact its faith towards the fatherland and freedom ”. The Town council then wanted that Castelforte is known like “City for Peace” in order to underline not only its history passed, but also to contribute to create an authentic culture of peace.

Economy

Formerly the economy of the commune rested primarily on the agriculture and the breeding of the sheep.

Currently the tertiary sector is strongly developed. However, the old traditions are always with the honor, like the local arts and crafts or the production of typical food products, especially the cheeses. The tourist activity is related to the Thermal baths of Suio.

Culture

Monuments

Medieval Tower going back from the 12th century
medieval Walls of the 13th century
Medieval Castelforte (13th century)
Church from Sainte-Marie in Pensulis (9th century) and the blazon from Templiers (Suio)
ducal Castle from Suio (10th century)
Roman Thermal baths in Suio
Ruins from the church from Saint Christophe (13th century)
Church from San Giovanni Battista (medieval)
Church from Sainte-Marie of the Good Remedy (12th century)
Church to Saint-Michel Archangel

Museum

Archaeological Museum

Festivals, fairs, folklore and traditions

Friday-Saint : Representation of the passion of Christ

June: Celebrates of Saint-Anthony

July: International festival of the “Three Turns” with a race of the asses, plays popular, a historical procession and an international festival of the folklore.

August:

Festival of Holy-Maria in Pensulis
Exposure of the local arts and crafts
Festival of the Ventrisco (Mastic tree)
Festival-Spaghetti of mid-August (Ferragosto) the
national Festival of the folklore
Good-bye to the summer - Musical evening

September:

Festival of Notre-Dame of the Seven-Pains
Festival of the Grape - songs, balls, folks groups, offering of the grape

November: Celebrates of Holy-Cecile

December: Alive crib (Church of Saint-Michel Archangel, Suio)

Local gastronomy

Castelforte profits, like all the area of the mouth of Garigliano, of the products of the soil (seaside or back-country) for the development of a simple kitchen.

One finds the products of the sea in the typical fish soups - sea-bream, bar, giant shrimp - to the multiple receipts.

The kitchen of the back-country, most traditional, is found in the pastes with eggs, the sauces house, the soups with the “insane grasses” (kind of mixture of Bourrache, Chicorée, wild Fenouil and several other grasses whose choice constitutes an art in oneself) gathered in the fields, chicorey soups, the pastes with beans, omelets containing of wild vegetables and the Salami.

The meats call upon the kid or the lamb.

The traditional, simple, rustic desserts (and… delicious), have an old origin like gli piccelatielli (Gimblette).

The wines of the area are known since the Roman epoch:

the Cecubo (Coecubum), of red color ruby and dryness, adapts to the red meat roasts or white
the yellow Falernum of color straw with reflections pale green, adapts to the mets containing fish

Administration

The Commune of Castelforte belongs to the Community Montana Zona XVII dei Monti Aurunci and, thanks to Suio, it forms also part of Association Nationale Thermal Communes .

Personalities

Andrea Mattei (1744-1823), painter, author of the " Assomption" , gone back to 1791, placed above the major furnace bridge of the church of Sainte-Marie of the Divine Love. Others of its works are found in the churches of Santi Cosma E Damiano, Saint Martin's day with Ventosa (hamlet of Santi Cosma E Damiano), as well as a fabric " Virgin and Holy " , signed and gone back to 1783, in the church of Holy-Catherine of Maranola .
Francesco Petronio (born in Castelforte in 1840), orthopedic surgeon of international repute, university professor, communal adviser in Naples and provincial adviser of Ground of Work , like deputy at the Parliament. He was the founder and the director of the Private clinic of Traumatology of the University of Naples and the first surgeon of the Hospital of the Pilgrims of Peace.

Hamlets

Suio, San Lorenzo, San Sebastiano Petrete

Suio

Suio includes/understands two distinct parts:

Suio Viola , with the ruins of the old castle on the top of the hill
Suio Formed , with its sulfurous thermal springs, on the level of the Garigliano

The name Suio is related to the castle, Castrum Suji , set up before 1040 (date of the first document which refers to Castrum Suji ). The thermal springs supported the first establishments on the current territory of Suio. The Romains took the control of the territory following the battle of the Veseris in 314 av. J. - C.

The thermal baths of Suio Froma are old the Aquae Vescinae , quoted by Pline and Lucain (the ruins of supposedly the " Bath of Néron " are still visible). For the imperial period, these thermal baths were very attended, in particular by the Romans. To the fall of the Roman Empire, the use of thermal springs was limited to the local population and the thermal baths were forgotten during several centuries. Those were reactivated after the Second world war with the construction of balneal establishments and hotel appendices.

The thermal baths of Suio are made up many sources of sulfurous water rich also in Bicarbonate S and Alcalino-terreux which spouts out at temperatures oscillating between 15 and 64°C. This water is employed with the fine therapeutic ones to look after the respiratory diseases, oto-rhino-laryngologic, arthritic, cutaneous and gynaecological like with an aim esthetic and releasing, such as inhalation, mud baths, irrigation and blowing. Water, including/understanding various minerals, is even marketed out of bottle like water of cooking.

Communes bordering

Coreno Ausonio, Rocca d' Evandro, Sant' Andrea del Garigliano, Santi Cosma E Damiano, Sessa Aurunca, Vallemaio

Useful bonds

(Necessary Knowledge of Italian)

Castelforte

Castelforte - Wilkipedia
Santi Cosma E Damiano - Wilkipedia
Site of the commune of Castelforte
Common Italian - Presidential Castelforte
Communicated - Castelforte
Communicated Ministry for the Interior - Castelforte

Suio

Suio - Wilkipedia
Site of the commune of Castelforte - Thermal baths of Suio

Hamlet

San Sebastiano Petrete - Wilkipedia

Blazon

heraldic Emblem of Castelforte
heraldic Service public of the Italian government - Blazon of Castelforte
Caratteristisques of the Italian blazons
Araldicacivica Site - Blazon and banner of Castelforte

Twinnings

Photograph gallery

See too

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