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ROBERTO MORELLI Caduto ad appena 19 anni combattendo a Montelungo contro la Divisione tedesca Goering con la divisa del nuovo esercito italiano di liberazione di Amedeo Massetti Roberto Morelli era nato a Città di Castello il 10 luglio 1924 da genitori entrambi umbertidesi ed era rimasto legato strettamente alla nostra città, dove ritornava presso i suoi parenti ogni volta che gli impegni scolastici glielo permettevano. Finiti gli studi superiori aveva deciso di diventare ufficiale di marina e per questo aveva raggiunto l'Accademia Navale a Venezia nell'agosto del 1943, per seguire il previsto tirocinio. Sopravvenne l'8 settembre; tutti i giovani concorrenti furono imbarcati sulla nave "Vespucci" il giorno 10 e trasferiti a Brindisi nella sede dell'ex collegio navale, dopo una navigazione piena di pericoli. Nella nuova sede un certo numero di loro lasciò l'Accademia per rientrare in famiglia; la maggioranza rimase, tra questi anche i nove ragazzi, compreso il Morelli, che decisero di non lasciar passare altro tempo per dare un contributo immediato alla rinascita della Patria. Si arruolarono così, dopo aver lasciato quasi clandestinamente l'Accademia, nel 514º Battaglione Bersaglieri Allievi Ufficiali che faceva parte del 12º Raggruppamento motorizzato costituitosi a S. Pietro Vernotico, a poca distanza da Brindisi. II raggruppamento fu portato in linea e nel sanguinoso combattimento dell'8 dicembre 1943 per la conquista di Montelungo, dei nove ragazzi che avevano lasciato l'Accademia cinque caddero, tra cui Roberto, e quattro furono feriti affrontando i veterani della divisione tedesca Goering. La vicenda dei nove ragazzi é stata ricordata con elevate parole anche dall'allora Presidente del Consiglio Carlo Azelio Ciampi , in occasione della sua visita all'Accademia Navale di Livorno nel dicembre 1993 e, a suo tempo, dal Generale Clark, comandante della 9ª Armata Americana in un suo nobile messaggio al 51º battaglione Bersaglieri dopo la battaglia di Montelungo. Motivazione della Medaglia d'Argento al Valor Militare alla Memoria "Arruolatosi volontario partecipava a successive azioni contro i tedeschi, dimostrando in ogni circostanza sprezzo del pericolo. Durante un duro combattimento, conscio della necessità di rifornire di munizioni la sua arma, attraversava più volte la zona battuta dal tiro di armi automatiche avversarie. Ferito in uno di questi tentativi, ricusava di raggiungere il posto di medicazione e visto morire il porta-arma tiratore alla mitragliatrice lo sostituiva. Una raffica micidiale, colpendolo una seconda volta, troncava la sua nobile vita". Una via intitolata a Roberto Morelli Una nuova via nella zona edificata delle Fontanelle. Accanto a quelle intitolate a Massimiliano Kolbe, ai Maestri del Lavoro, a Don Bosco, alle Maestre Pie Filippini e al dottor Mario Migliorati, ce n'è ora una dedicata a un ragazzo morto in guerra a 19 anni: Roberto Morelli, medaglia d'argento al valor militare. Un nome meno conosciuto, di un giovane che riposa nel cimitero di Umbertide, e che l'8 dicembre 1943 cadde a Montelungo, bersagliere volontario dell'appena ricostituito esercito italiano di liberazione. L'Amministrazione comunale ha aderito alle richieste delle associazioni combattentistiche umbertidesi, uniformandosi nell'opera da sempre tesa a ricordare tutti quei cittadini che caddero eroicamente nelle tragiche vicende vissute dal popolo italiano. Così come avvenuto in passato per Pucci, Rosati e Starnini, domenica 7 settembre il sindaco Becchetti ha scoperto la targa della nuova strada adiacente a piazza Berlinguer. La cerimonia è iniziata alle 11 al cimitero. Una messa celebrata da don Gerardo Balbi davanti alla tomba dell'eroico ragazzo. Tante le autorità presenti e tanti i labari delle associazioni di ex combattenti. Con commosse parole, all'omelia, il sacerdote ha ricordato il sacrificio di Roberto e la donazione della sua giovane vita. E infine la preghiera del marinaio letta da Marco Baldassarri, tra le note del "silenzio" del trombettiere della Banda della Marina Militare di La Spezia che ha presenziato al rito. Subito dopo, nella piazza delle Fontanelle, la cerimonia di intitolazione della nuova via. Il Sindaco ha salutato le autorità presenti e tutti gli intervenuti. "Con questa semplice cerimonia - ha detto Becchetti - continuiamo nell'opera che l'Amministrazione comunale ha da tempo avviato: quella di ricordare quei concittadini che, in particolari momenti storici, in momenti estremamente difficili, si sono trovati a dover scegliere, ed hanno, onestamente e coerentemente con i propri principi, fatto scelte coraggiose, pagando con la propria vita." Il Capitano di Fregata avvocato Giuseppe Conforto, dell'Associazione Nazionale Marinai d'Italia, ha tenuto la commemorazione ufficiale e con elevate parole ha ricordato la figura di Roberto Morelli, dall'Accademia Navale a Venezia alla battaglia di Montelungo. Ha messo in evidenza il coraggio e i nobili ideali che ispirarono il giovane nella sua scelta che dovette poi pagare col sacrificio della vita. Quindi, davanti all"'attenti" del picchetto d'onore comandato dal sottotenente Giorgio Cordioli, e alla Banda della Marina che intonava un brano musicale, lo scoprimento della targa. Un momento molto emozionante. Molte le autorità presenti: il vice Prefetto dottor Roberto Aragno, il tenente colonnello Passeri in rappresentanza del generale Franco Stella, il tenente colonnello Cosimo Chiarelli, comandante provinciale di Carabinieri, il generale Federico Marzollo con alfiere e medagliere del 514º Battaglione Bersaglieri, il generale Civello Luccioli con medagliere del Nastro Azzurro di Perugia, l'avvocato Mancini, vice presidente dell'Associazione Forze Armate Regolari della Guerra di Liberazione e i rappresentanti umbertidesi delle Associazioni Alpini, Bersaglieri, Marinai, Combattenti Guerra di Liberazione, famiglie dei Caduti. Per la famiglia di Roberto Morelli c'era il fratello Renato e la cugina Elena . Conclusa la cerimonia, la Fanfara della Marina Militare di La Spezia ha percorso le vie cittadine suonando briosi motivi e, seguita da molte persone, è giunta in piazza Matteotti. Sopra il palco ha tenuto un breve concerto per i cittadini presenti entusiasmando tutti per la brillante ed appassionata esecuzione dei brani proposti. La battaglia di Montelungo La battaglia di Montelungo è, secondo gli storici, l'evento più importante della Guerra di Liberazione. Infatti, ai piedi di questa altura che domina la via Casilina a Sud di Cassino, nella stretta di Mignano, il 14º Raggruppamento Motorizzato Italiano, formato tutto da volontari e che si può definire la cellula fondamentale del nuovo esercito, sostenne il primo combattimento che segnò l'inizio della riscossa italiana. La lotta fu dura; le perdite elevatissime: 320 tra morti, feriti e dispersi. Il monte, quel giorno, non fu conquistato; l'azione dovette essere sospesa per l'insufficiente appoggio dell'artiglieria, per la fitta nebbia e per lo scarso coordinamento con gli Alleati. Ripresa la lotta, il 16 dicembre il monte fu preso. L'avvenimento dimostrò agli Alleati la ferma volontà del popolo italiano di riscattare un passato che non gli apparteneva più. Fino a quel momento gli italiani avevano combattuto con le armi che erano rimaste in dotazione, cioè antiquate e scarse; da quel momento gli Alleati si premurarono di farne un reparto moderno ed efficiente. Nacque così, il 17 aprile 1944, con l'apporto della divisione paracadutisti Nembo (della quale fece parte il concittadino Domenico Brunori) il Corpo Italiano di Liberazione e, successivamente, nell'agosto 1944, i Gruppi di Combattimento Friuli, Mantova, Piceno, Legnano dove combatté e morì il nostro concittadino Starnini e non ultimo il Cremona , nel quale combatterono tanti giovani umbertidesi tra i quali Rosati e Pucci caduti in battaglia e la Medaglia d'Argento Guerriero Leonardi . Fonti: Articolo di Amedeo Massetti su “Umbertide Cronache n. 4 - 1997”

GENERALE ALBERTO BRIGANTI UN PIONIERE DELL’AVIAZIONE GENERAL ALBERTO BRIGANTI AN AVIATION PIONEER curated by Fabio Mariotti by Alvaro Gragnoli The Frecce Tricolori for the 100th anniversary of the General August 31, 1996. The roar of the engines of the PAN MB339s, Aerobatic Team Nazionale Frecce Tricolori, is felt throughout Umbertide making the windows tremble houses. It forces citizens to roll their eyes to admire those planes so low, with the tricolor painted under the wings and on the fuselage, that in an instant disappear from sight. But after a few minutes here they appear again leaving a long trail of white, red and green smoke, and waving its wings in greeting up to disappear in the distance. Enthusiasm and surprise mix because not everyone knows that in the council chamber municipal, with a simple ceremony, wishes are being given to the general of the Alberto Briganti Air Force. He has just turned one hundred and the Frecce Tricolori they came to pay homage to the soldier and the man who had so much importance in the history of national aviation. But the Air Force Band also wanted to be present on this unrepeatable occasion and, in the evening, held a very popular concert at the Teatro del Parco Ranieri. The birth in Umbertide in 1896 If Umbertide has given valuable pilots, some of which are highly decorated (1), and if many young people continue to enlist in aviation, it is also due to the story of Briganti. Which curiously begins as a sailor. Born in Umbertide on December 22, 1896, he was orphaned by his mother at the age of two and was raised by his grandmother, who managed to get him to study until he graduated from secondary school. Perhaps we would have had one more teacher or accountant, and one less general if, during the holidays of the year of middle school, two Umbertidesi had not returned to the city and they would push him to the choice of life. One is long-time captain Armando Bettoni, who is he will thrill with stories about his life as a sailor, and the other is Count Balilla Grilli, director of the “Vittorio Emanuele” marine college in Livorno, who invites him to enroll in his school. And the young Alberto leaves for Livorno, where in 1915 he will obtain his nautical diploma and, at the beginning of 1916, having not yet called up the draft of 1896, he embarks on the steamship “Assiria”. He begins to navigate between the various ports of the Tyrrhenian Sea, but as soon as the course for additional officer cadets at the Naval Academy is announced, he applies and is ranked eleventh out of 120 participants. From the Navy to the Aviation It is during the exams that the admiral commanding the school informs them that the Navy needs airmen and invites them to apply. Sixteen of them decide in this sense and so the young Alberto who, his comment, "I went to the Nautical Institute without having seen the sea and without knowing how to swim, I went to aviation without ever having seen an airplane up close" (2), is envoy at the Flight School of Taranto, where he follows the course held by ten. of ship Mario Calderara, Italian pilot's license n.1 and pupil of Wilbur Wright. In May 1917 he obtained the seaplane pilot license and was assigned to the Venice office. We are in the middle of the war and the bombing and reconnaissance actions carried out at the controls of an L3 aircraft built by Macchi are daily. The objectives are mainly the port of Pula, the base of the navy Austrian, and the area around the Piave river. It is in the course of one of these actions that he is injured the thigh while still managing to return to the base even with the plane riddled with shots. In the Great War he was decorated with two medals bronze for the following reasons: “Bold seaplane pilot, after having strafed at low altitude stalking of enemy machine gunners, although wounded, seen his squadron leader descend into the swamp, he lingered on the spot until he made sure it was rescue from another seaplane and, despite the suffering, he then brought the aircraft back to the departure station demonstrating great fortitude. Basso Piave December 16, 1917 ". "Seaplane pilot was performing numerous bombings […] in enemy territory demonstrating always zeal and in various critical circumstances, admirable courage and calm. Upper Adriatic July-December 1918 "(3). The end of the war found him in Ancona from where he was transferred in May 1919, at the headquarters in Fiume. There he lives with D'Annunzio the whole dramatic history of that city. Returning to civilian life, he founds an airline, which however has a short life troubled. He then presents himself to the competition announced by the Regia Marina for officers in SPE, he brilliantly overtakes it and is embarked on the battleship “Vittorio Emanuele ”with the rank of lieutenant. But it is clear that his fate it is not facing the sea because, when it was founded in October 1923 the Air Force as an independent body, the decision to change the uniform of the Navy with that of the Air Force is taken without any second thoughts. “I had to choose my fate. I had been an aviator for five years […] I was slipped twice into the sea, I had been wounded in the air, faced storms and grazed death many times, but I had never had a moment of perplexity for having chosen to be a pilot " . (A. Briganti. "Op. Quoted) Thus he met Italo Balbo who had been entrusted with the task of organizing the new weapon, became his instructor for the pilot's license on seaplanes and in 1927 he was his flight assistant. In this new role she organizes and participates in various air cruises in the Mediterranean and in Europe. The one that sees him most committed at an organizational level and in which he should have participated as a driver, is the Atlantic crossing on the Savoia-Marchetti S.55A seaplanes from Rome to Brazil, which made Balbo and the Italian Air Force famous all over the world. But comes the appointment as aide-de-camp to the King, to which he cannot say no and must necessarily renounce. He will leave this post in 1933 to take command of the seaplane base of Orbetello. In this capacity, when his subject, the pilot lieutenant Roberto Federici asks him to be a witness at his wedding willingly accepts. The bride is a certain Claretta Petacci, who sadly ended her life alongside the Duce in Dongo. In 1936, at the age of forty, he was promoted to general. Duke Amedeo d'Aosta, commander of the first air division L'Aquila, communicates this to him. From that moment on, he would have been employed by him, having managed "to snatch him from Italo Balbo who wanted him with him" (4). He will remain with the duke for a little less than two years when, after a short period in the ministry as head of the training and operations department of the General Staff, he is assigned to Tripoli as commander of the Libyan Air Force. He thus returned to the employ of Balbo, who at that moment was the Governor of the Italian colony. In 1938 he was at his side in Germany in the meeting he had with Goering and Hitler, and with him he remained in Libya until the end of May 1940, when he was assigned to command the Milan Air Zone. On June 10, Italy also enters the war. On the 28th of the same month Italo Balbo will be shot down by our anti-aircraft in the skies of Tobruch (5). Thus closes a cycle of Briganti's life that had been full of satisfaction and interest. War, imprisonment and escape In March 1943, after spending about a year as commander-in-chief of the Navy Aviation (Italy was preparing an aircraft carrier, "L'Aquila", which was damaged by British bombing and the project was abandoned), destined for the command of the Air Force of the Aegean based in Rhodes. Here is the 8th of September and when the Germans invite all the military Italians to enlist in their army, the gen. Briganti refuses and sends a letter to the German command, of which we report a passage: “Today the King of Italy has ordered the suspension of hostilities towards the Anglo-American armed forces. Having taken an oath of loyalty to the King, the Departments of the Aegean Air Force feel the obligation to obey his orders and therefore declare, through me, to refrain from hostile acts both against the Anglo-Americans and against the Germanic troops: not therefore they can enlist in any army other than the Italian one ”. The consequence of this letter is the arrest and the transfer to Lager 64 / Z of Schokken in Poland, where he arrives after a long transfer first by plane and then by train. Lager 64 / Z is a camp intended for senior officers and the life of the prisoners takes place in an acceptable way if compared to other camps, albeit with many privations. Several times the commander of the camp invites the officers to enlist in the army of the Republic of Salò, but they only accept General Biseo, who was Mussolini's personal pilot, and a few others. Thus we arrive at January 20, 1945 when, to escape the advance of the Russian army, the Germans begin the transfer from the camp. It is a very hard march on frozen snow, with the temperature even dropping to 20 degrees below zero, but after five days of suffering, during a stop in the village of Rosko, near the city of Wielen, then the border with Germany, comes the opportunity to escape. It is a local farmer, a certain Domina, who proposes it to the prisoners to whom he is distributing milk and bread, telling them that he would help them. What to do? Go ahead and face the SS who see them as traitors or take risks with the Soviet soldiers instead? The gen. Briganti, the gen. Francesco Arena and ten. with the. of the air force Carlo Unia decide to try. Helped by the farmer who hides them from the sight of the guards, they slip into the door of a house. The column of prisoners passes in front of their hiding place and when it has disappeared in the distance, the three fugitives, accompanied by the Pole, head towards his home. Here they are refreshed and can finally sleep in shelter and warmth. Three days after the escape, on the evening of January 28, Domina and ten. with the. Unia have been out for a while to listen to a clandestine radio, when the door opens violently and two Soviet soldiers appear. Domina's sister tries to explain that the two are Italian prisoners who escaped from the Germans, but the two Soviets, shouting "Italianski, fascisti", violently push her away and they push Briganti and Arena out of the door threatening them with rifles. In the courtyard, while one of them keeps his rifle pointed, the other searches them and appropriates the little they have. The gen. Arena addresses Briganti with the words "here they kill us like dogs", to which Briganti replies: "Dear Arena, we thought we had guessed, but we were wrong". He does not hear the shot, but only a violent blow to the head that makes him fall to the ground unconscious. He will find out only several days later but, when he is lifeless on the ground, the soldier fires a second shot at him which wounds him in the neck. When he wakes up, he tries to understand what happened and only realizes the wound in his left ear that has torn part of the scalp. He sheds a lot of blood and can't stand, but he's alive, even if the pain in the head is excruciating. Look for gen. Arena and sees it a stone's throw from him poured in his blood. He did not have the same luck (6). With much suffering he drags himself home, the blow to the ear has upset the sense of balance and only with great pain does he manage to enter. All fours approaches the bed and, sitting on the ground, leans on it exhausted. A little later he hears one patter outside the door and thinks it is Unia and Domina returning. He calls them, but sees the two Soviet soldiers from just before entering. Then he lets himself slide to the ground, his right hand under his head, hoping that they think he is dead. It is not so. One shot and the bullet hits the thumb and touches the head. He closes his eyes thinking that this time he will not have the same luck and when he feels a contact in his chest, he thinks it is the barrel of the gun for the last shot. But it is the soldier's hand that tears off the insignia of his uniform and then he goes away. The next morning Domina, together with col. Unia finds him lying on the bed, with the blood he has crossed the pillow and spilled onto the floor. He gives him first aid but only after a fortnight does he partially regain his sense of balance and can be transported to the hospital in Scharnikow about twenty kilometers away. It is here that he discovers that there are two head injuries that, however, are fortunately healing. The wound on the thumb is infected, the finger is very sore and swollen to the point that it needs to be cut. There are no surgical instruments and a sharpener disinfected by the flame of a lighter is used. In the absence of medicines, the wound is treated in an "artisanal" way, with the methods used by local farmers; the effects are still very effective and it will heal perfectly, while it will take several months to recover the balance. Meanwhile, the situation is slowly, albeit chaotically, normalizing and the Soviets organize the grouping of ex-prisoners of the Germans, Italians and allies, for repatriation. The lack of means, the interrupted lines and the resulting chaos will make the return journey long and difficult, albeit alleviated by the availability and help of the populations of the various countries crossed. The first days of September 1945 Alberto Briganti is in Ukraine from where he finally manages to continue with a certain regularity through half of Europe and to reach Italy. On 5 October 1945 he reunites with his family. The two head wounds, now healed, are the silent testimony of how much luck has helped him. The postwar period After the hostilities, we proceed with the reorganization of the Ministry of Aeronautics. Chief of Staff is appointed gen. of air squad Mario Ajmone-Cat, who wants the gen. Brigands in the commission charged with studying the new system. For the laws on the matter, Briganti is submitted to the judgment of the 1st degree commission for the purge of military personnel, accused of "having carried out undoubted fascist political activity by participating in action squads". But he was acquitted "for not having given manifestations of serious bias and having already for many years detached himself from the fascist ideology and abstained from further and specific political activities". In August 1946 he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to replace gen. Ajmone-Cat, sent to Paris for peace negotiations. In a speech to the Chamber, the Hon. Cingolani, Minister of the Air Force, to silence concerns that there were generals with fascist and monarchist backgrounds at the top, declares: "If these officers, who yesterday were monarchists in good faith, in good faith today they accept to serve the Republic, and it is the case of the new Chief of Staff (Briganti, ed.), there is no reason not to believe that faith and that word "(7). In the six months that he held the post, Briganti managed to establish excellent personal relationships with his American allies, which gave him the opportunity to reconstitute a first military aviation unit using aircraft decommissioned by the allies. At the same time, he obtained the authorization to set up a civil aviation company. Thus was born the LAI (Italian Airlines) associated with the US TWA, immediately followed by another company, Alitalia, associated with British Airways. Subsequently, the two companies will merge into one, with the name Alitalia. In the years 1948-1949 Briganti was secretary general of the Air Force and in this capacity he was responsible for the design of the new Rome airport, which became necessary because that of Ciampino, due to the increased commercial traffic, is becoming insufficient. The choice falls on the Fiumicino area. Briganti presents a project that, at the Paris Air Show in 1949, collects the admiration of all experts; they call it "the most rational airport in the world". But in 1951, when he was general manager of Civil Aviation, he was unable to oppose a series of changes that would completely upset the project and lead to what is now the “Leonardo da Vinci” airport. Briganti will also hold the positions of president of the superior council of the Air Force and president of the superior council of the Armed Forces. He retired in 1954, having reached the age limit, with the rank of "four-star air squad general". At the time of his leave, the then President of the Republic Giovanni Gronchi, addressed this letter to the general: Dear General, when you leave the permanent service for having reached the age limit, I am pleased to send you the expression of gratitude that the Country and the Air Force owe you for what you have done for both as Navy and Air Force Officer. Bold pilot in peace and war, Commander of large mobilized air units, heroic defender of the island of Rhodes on 8 September 1943, reorganizer of the Italian military and civil Air Force as Chief of Staff and Secretary General of the Air Force, President of the Superior Council of the Armed Forces; these are the brilliant stages of your service, which make you a high example of soldier, organizer and leader. The firmness and pride of mind demonstrated during the internment in Poland, which left marks in His spirit and in His body still visible today, add a note of moral value which, together with the daring and high sense of duty, make it for the Air Force and for the country well worthy of esteem and memory. Please, dear General, my best wishes and many cordial greetings. Giovanni Gronchi. Rome June 16, 1955 (8). Among the many Italian and foreign decorations of which gen. Briganti was awarded the very high honor of "Knight of the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Italy", with the following motivation: "General Officer of high military qualities [...] Commander of the Air Force of the Aegean, at the time of the armistice he kept an exemplary demeanor as a man and as a Commander, personally following and pointing out to his employees the way of honor and duty. Aegean 1943 "(9). The monument at the Umbertide cemetery Briganti died in Rome on 2 July 1997 and was buried in the cemetery of "his" Umbertide. The story could end here, but we want to tell one last episode, indicative of how hard it is to die a mentality anchored in a distant past. In the early 2000s, the Umbertide Airmen Association, led by the colonel pilot Giuseppe Cozzari (silver medal and war cross for military valor), who with gen. Briganti collaborated after the war, he would like to honor with a monument the fellow citizen who gave so much prestige to his hometown. All the associates, but in particular the col. Cozzari and Marshal Muzio Venti , will work body and soul to achieve the target. The task of designing it is entrusted to Adriano Bottaccioli , painter, graphic, historical, much appreciated not only in Umbertide. The local Lions supports the initiative providing all possible help, including financial. The Cassa foundations also contribute di Risparmio di Perugia and Città di Castello. The municipal administration, to which it comes requested a space for the placement of the monument, he prevaricates for a long time until he gives his own decided "no". The reasons, even if not explicitly stated, seem obvious: yes it can honor those who have had a fascist past, albeit subordinated to a high sense of State, even if he acquired considerable merit in the activities to which he was called by Italian republic. We forget that in the much warmer years immediately after the war, with a very different spirit, a municipal administration of the same political color, had even organized the funeral - it was later learned that it was fake because the body was not been found again - to honor the driver Fausto Fornaci, who fell fighting for the Italian Social Republic. Meanwhile the years pass, the col. Cozzari and Marshal Venti and the stalemate does not seem to be unblocked. Finally, in 2008, a compromise was proposed: the monument could have its place inside the city cemetery. If, as Foscolo says, "the strong soul ignites the urn of the strong for excellent things", this is certainly not the ideal place, far from the gaze of anyone. But no alternatives are allowed. The solution is accepted, obtorto collo, and the monument is placed in the area of the new cemetery. A wonderful example to our dear departed ones. NOTE: 1. as Fausto Fornaci (Altotiberine Pages n.50), Gen. EMPucci (2 silver medals and War Cross at VM, Gen. A. Contini (3 silver medals at VM). two wars, there were 18 silver medals in the VM, 4 war crosses, 6 bronze medals, numerous commendations. (Luciana Ranieri Honorati. "The Umbrians in the history of flight" - Perugia 1984 - San Paolo di Tivoli. ) 2. A. Briganti, “Beyond the clouds the serene” Nuovo Studio Tecna - Rome - 2nd ed. Sept. 1994 3. Luciana Ranieri Honorati "The Umbrians in the history of flight - Perugia 1984‐ 4. Duke Amedeo d'Aosta defined Briganti's military and professional qualities in this way: “The complex of his moral skills, his culture and serenity of character, make it easy for him to work as an educator. Employees immediately feel confident in him and carry out their duties with keen enthusiasm. A very skilled pilot, he demonstrates in navigation that he possesses uncommon qualities for safety, expertise and in-depth knowledge of all the most modern systems. Excellent bombing pilot with 20/20. Excellent general of the Air Bombardment Brigade. May 1937 ". (Lucia R.Honorati. Op. Cited) 5. The next day an RAF plane parachuted a laurel wreath on the Italian field with the following note: "The British air forces express their sincere regret for the death of Marshal Balbo, a great leader and a valiant aviator who fate posed in the adverse field ". Today the body of Italo Balbo rests among those of the Atlantic flyers in a sector of the Orbetello cemetery reserved for them. 6. He will be buried in the small cemetery of the town and the grave will always be cared for by some inhabitants, until his return to Italy about fifteen years later. (A. Briganti. Op. Cited) 7. A. Briganti. Op. Cited 8. A. Briganti. Op. Cited 9. Luciana Ranieri Honorati. (Op cited) The photos, and the quotations in italics of the text, are taken from the book " Beyond the clouds the serene " by A. Briganti, and from the internet. The photos of the ceremonies are by Fabio Mariotti. Sources: Alberto Briganti “ Beyond the clouds, the serene ” 2nd edition ‐ September 1994 - Nuovo Studio Tecna ‐ Rome Luciana Ranieri Honorati. “ The Umbrians in the history of flight ” - Perugia 1984 - San Paolo di Tivoli printing press. This essay was published in nr. 53 - 2014 by Pagine Altotiberine published by the "Historical Association of the Upper Tiber Valley" on p. 127 It has also been published on the website “umbertideturismo.it” - Municipality of Umbertide The Frecce Tricolori above the Collegiate Church The religious ceremony in the Collegiate Church On the right, the General accompanied by Marshal Muzio Venti The Macchi L3 plane 1955. The General with the mayor Faloci after his leave The cover of the autobiographical book The Lt. Col. Pilot dr. Giuseppe Cozzari The project of the monument by Adriano Bottaccioli The monument at the Umbertide cemetery (Photo by Alvaro Gragnoli) The monument during the inauguration The deposition of a crown by the military authorities

Penetola. Not all the dead die. by Giovanni Bottaccioli Here we present the entire small research book that Giovanni Bottaccioli, recently passed away, several years ago, he realized about the massacre of Penetola. Put in writing the voices and memories of the unfortunate protagonists of the story, giving everyone the opportunity to know them. Thanks to the availability of her daughters, Elvira and Giovanna, we present her entire work, which can also be downloaded or browsed in .pdf below, recommended for smartphones or for those who want to keep it (click from smartphone on the image below, scroll it on tablet and pc). Photo by Fabio Mariotti. PENETULA NOT ALL DEAD DIE by Giovanni Bottaccioli LE ALTRE VITTIME QUELLA PRIMAVERA DEL 1944 IL RACCONTO DI BRUNO IL RACCONTO DI DINA IL RICORDO DI ANNA QUEL 28 GIUGNO ALL'ALBA LE VITTIME DA ORMINDO UN ALTRO GIORNO GRIDA DISPERATE DI UNA DONNA COME PREMESSA COME PREMESSA AS FOREWORD If on 27 April 1997 I had not gone, together with some companions and friends, to the ceremony for the deposition of a crown at the monument to the martyrs of "Penetola", I believe that I would never have written these few pages on that distant and tragic episode that occurred on June 28, 1944, a few days after the liberation of our municipal territory. One of the many that took place in Italy in that period which, even if distant in time, should have remained well engraved in the memory of all, and especially in that of those who were direct or indirect witnesses. The delegation, despite the public posters and the invitations made to the population by the Anti-Fascist Committee and the Municipal Administration, included the Mayor Celestino Sonaglia, the maestro Raffaele Mancini representing the Anti-Fascist Committee, Alberto Mancini, partisan and silver medalist of the Resistance, Alfredo Ciarabelli of the PCI, Ferdinando Bruschi, President of the young volunteers from Umberto I joined the "Cremona" division, with some veterans of the Liberation War, I who write representing the Giunta Municipal and very few other citizens, no more than fifteen people in all, including Giuseppe Ivorio, one of the survivors of the massacre. You will wonder why a crown was placed in memory of the martyrs of "Penetola" on 21 April and not on 28 June, the anniversary of the massacre carried out by the Nazi-Fascists. The explanation is simple: a few days ago the Nazi war criminal Gen. Kappler, sentenced to life imprisonment, had escaped from the infirmary of the Regina Coeli prison in Rome, where he was hospitalized because of an incurable disease. massacre of the Fosse Ardeatine: where 335 "political prisoners" were brutally slaughtered, taken from the Roman prisons in retaliation for a partisan action against the Nazi occupation troops. That sensational escape, incredible for its daring aspects, had a great repercussion in the country, especially in the conscience of the citizens most sensitive to the defense of the democratic institutions born of the Resistance; with that "flight" was seriously offended, not only the memory of the fallen of the Resistance, but the conscience of all those who, with their tribute of struggles and blood, had contributed to the redemption of the Nation from the abyss of war, from the abyss of the barbarism into which Fascism had led it. This was the motivation that had led me together with the other citizens, representatives of the democratic and anti-fascist forces to lay the crowns at the memorial stone placed in memory of the martyrs of "Penetola". Cippo which is located about one kilometer from the hamlet of Niccone, on the left side of the road that leads to Lake Trasimeno and a few hundred meters from the house where the horrendous Nazi massacre was consummated; and erected a few years ago by the municipal administration on the proposal of the Anti-Fascist Committee of Umbertide. While I was witnessing the deposition of the crown, I wondered how it was possible that atrocious events like this and how those that occurred in so many other parts of Italy with thousands of innocent deaths could be forgotten in such a short time, when still many survivors carry them on. The tremendous signs are flesh and memory. From this bitter observation for those who believe that only from the knowledge and memory of our past can the awareness of the defense and development of the values of freedom and democracy arise, the decision to write to remind the forgetful , but above all to young people who do not know what the years of fascism were, and especially that them of the war and the Nazi occupation of our country. I will say, as far as it is possible to reconstruct what happened in those sad days of June 1944, in that small part of the territory that goes from Niccone in Spedalicchio, with particular attention to the “Penetola” massacre in which twelve of our fellow citizens found the horrible death, guilty only of having been there. I will tell, albeit summarily, of other sad episodes that occurred a few days before that terrible 28 June. Episodes that I consider useful and necessary to tell to highlight a broader picture and highlight the climate of fear that we lived in that period, when for some days the shots of the cannons of the now nearby allied troops reached our ears. For the drafting of these few pages I also used the testimonies of some protagonists; they are: Anna Nanni, Bruno Montanucci, Lenin Sonaglia known as Luigi or Nino and finally Mrs. Dina Orsini ved. Ivory, escaped the massacre. THAT SPRING OF 1944 The Nazis, called after the armistice of 8 September 1943 by the fascists of the Italian Social Republic to keep up the shaky regime of terror they established in the country, occupy the national territory. war, the bombing actions by the allied aviation begin. Umbertide was bombed on April 25, 1944 and 74 fellow citizens died under the rubble. Many victims could have been spared if the "republican" authorities of the time had given the air alarm signal through the sound of the sirens that had been set up and that that day did not I was living at that time in the hamlet of Niccone and I was able to see, so I can tell with certainty, that the allied planes, before dropping the deadly bombs, flew for a few minutes over the town and over the targets, which were the two bridges over the Tiber river, that of the road and that of the railway, which then connected Arezzo with Fossato di Vico. Numerous turns over the inhabited area were made by airplanes, perhaps precisely to give the inhabitants the opportunity to get away from the area. The alarm was not sounded, no one moved, so the massacre took place. In this regard, I remember, because we have always talked about it in the family, that that morning, despite my father's insistence, I refused to go to Umbertide by bicycle. Only when the planes that had dropped their death bombs left, did I get on my bike and went to Umbertide. The sight that presented itself to the eyes was tremendous. At the end of via Cibo, the course, mountains of rubble, among these I recognized some willing people who lent help, Antonio Taticchi, a well-known anti-fascist who had a barber's workshop right on the corner of the Vibi palace and Romitelli, the tinsmith, and others who were looking for to extract the bodies of those who were trapped and begging for help. Other mountains of rubble were on via Petrogalli and even there the survivors were desperately looking for their loved ones. Through via Cibo I reached Piazza Matteotti and the spectacle seemed even more terrifying. Some unrecognizable bodies had been composed on the ground, others seriously injured were complaining. Frightened, I went in search of the families of my two aunts who lived there and when I knew for sure that they had not been aged, I took the road and returned to Niccone. In the afternoon there was a new bombardment again by allied aircraft, but this time it caused few victims, perhaps because, contrary to what happened previously, the planes dropped the bombs starting the dive from the Romeggio area and not from Civitella Ranieri as it had happened in the morning. Even the hamlet of Niccone, being at the crossroads between the state road and the road that, along the valley of the Niccone stream, leads towards Lake Trasimeno and from this into the Valdichiana, in Tuscany, could be included among the military objectives. for the two bridges over the river and therefore be subject to bombing actions that the Allies systematically operated, trying to hinder the retreat of the German troops. retreat that had begun after the allied landing in Anzio. The possibility of undergoing aerial bombardments and the fact that large groups of German soldiers had already taken possession of some houses in Niccone and the surrounding areas, advised most of the families of the small hamlet looking for a temporary and safer accommodation in the open countryside near the houses inhabited by the numerous sharecroppers scattered throughout the territory There were thousands, perhaps millions of families in Italy who at that time found accommodation and food with our "peasants", even if this term was and still is used by many people in a derogatory sense. But I believe that their great willingness, costing great sacrifices, to host all those who from the centers, even minor ones, tried to escape the fury of the war, was the greatest demonstration of their generosity, their altruism and their goodness. And this negative attitude towards land workers has been persistent for a long time and perhaps still is. Their great availability was demonstrated, in fact, not only by housing entire families but also by giving them more than enough to feed themselves. who gave us concrete help. I want to thank once again, sure to interpret the desire of many other "citizens", all the farmers in the area and especially the family of Pio Fornaci, known as the "Fornacino", for the great and disinterested hospitality granted to my family. Sometimes I wonder how many of us would be available, should it become necessary for unfortunate necessity, to give to the few remaining farmers or to others in need, part of our houses, our beds, our tables. As I have already said, also my father, a craftsman, who practiced as a barber. he had started looking for an accommodation and found it just beyond the hamlet of Molino Vitelli, at the home of “Fornacino”. The farm was owned of the Boncompagni family, owner of large agricultural estates. My father, my mother and my younger sister had moved into this new “home”, a single room of about twenty square meters which at the time represented a “palace”; I joined them later. At that time I was a soldier assigned to the infantry battalion at the "Biordo Michelotti" barracks in Perugia. I deserted by escaping from the military hospital of Santa Giuliana in Perugia, where I was hospitalized for tests after a 15-day convalescence leave; I did not intend for any reason to serve the Nazi-fascists of the RSI .. I was denounced for desertion. By bicycle I returned to Niccone, found the house empty and learned that my parents were displaced. I got back on my bicycle and looking from one side and the other of the road that crossed the whole hamlet, I noticed many German soldiers who had occupied some houses. Pedaling at a good pace, be careful not to run into some roadblock. I came near the house of the "Fornacino". I am not describing the joy of my parents in seeing me appear at the end of the road that leads from the main road to the farmhouse. This joy was partly mitigated by concern for what might have happened due to my desertion. It was known of the frequent roundups that fascists and Nazis undertook in search of those who either had not presented themselves to the call of the RSI or had deserted the weapons. And it was precisely the constant concern for the roundups that had made me take the decision to build, in the middle of a forest, not far from home, a "den", a refuge that could hardly be discovered, so much had been on my part, the care in camouflaging it with the surrounding environment. Fortunately, only once did I successfully use it to escape a roundup by the Republican National Guard. According to what I later learned, that roundup concerned precisely the search for deserters or reluctant to the continuous calls to arms that Nazis and Fascists posted on the walls and which now also concerned sixteen-year-olds! QUELLA PRIMAVERA DEL 1944 DESPERATE CRYING OF A WOMAN I remember perfectly that Sunday morning of June 26, 1944, when around ten I heard in the distance the cries of a woman coming from the fields that lead from the "Fornacino" house towards the Dogana, a place where she lived with other families, that of Trinari, on the right side of the large curve near Spedalicchio. They were the excruciating screams of a woman who, running through the fields of wheat already ripe enough and close to harvest, urged the men to immediately move away to the houses and flee to the woods to hide, because German soldiers in war gear were shooting all those who found. in the fields and in their homes. It was Ersilia Epi resident in Montecastelli, who had gone to visit her daughter displaced by the Trinari family or in the vicinity and who claimed to have witnessed the capture, by German soldiers, of the men of the area then locked up in a tobacco dryer; he feared they might be shot. f The woman, no longer young, always ran past the house and, without stopping for a moment, repeated, as a kind of begging, that terrible warning: "'Flee men, flee men !!" I was speechless, looked my mother in the face, also terrified by those screams, and without a moment's hesitation walked away across the fields; I tried to take shelter behind the vegetation of the rows of vines already thick enough with the leaves of the new shoots. I had a goal in mind: to reach the home of the Sonaglia family, a sharecropper who lived above the hamlet of Niccone. Owner of the farm, voc. "S. Maria ”, was the IFI company of Montecorona. The two brothers Sonaglia, Eusebio and Dante, with their respective wives and children lived there together with their father Benedetto. It was one of the largest farms on the whole Montecorona farm. I remember that in threshing time, which lasted a few days, the siren, as well as sounding at the beginning and end of the threshing or when the meal was announced, also sounded when 100 quintals of wheat had been reached. For many years I remember that this siren sounded even three times, to the great joy of those who, after their efforts, saw their sweats partially rewarded. In fact, at the Sonaglia home, my father had for the convenience of displaced customers, moved the barber shop, or rather, he was a "walking" barber, so as to be able to maintain relationships with people now scattered a little everywhere and at the same time send on with his earnings, the "wheelbarrow" that was very hard to push. As I ran along the rows of fields in the shelter of the vegetation and quickly moved away from the area, I mulled over what could have happened to my mother and my sister, then 11, who I had left alone at home. With this thought fixed in my mind, every now and then I slowed down and thought if perhaps it was not the case to go back; but the warning of the woman "run away men" sounded insistently in the ears. Accompanied by these thoughts, I continued with an ever faster pace, to go towards the Sonaglia house; I wanted to reach my father as soon as possible. The journey that I knew well and that in other circumstances had seemed short to me, seemed to never end at this juncture. As soon as I reached the Sonaglia house I looked for my father and I immediately told him with my heart in my mouth what had happened, the reason why I had left my mother and my sister at home. He was very shaken and worried and told me to stay around because he would find out as soon as possible what was really happening. We parted with the promise that in a few hours we would meet again to decide if and how to return to the “Fornacino's house”. As I walked away, I noticed my father's strong concern for what I had told him. He was also worried about my brother Attilio, who had fled from the barracks in Orvieto where he was in the military, who just that morning went to Romeggio to visit some friends. Being a deserter himself, he had to be warned of the imminent danger and not to return home. My father, during the great war of 1915/18, had been a prisoner of the Germans and knew, from direct experience, what degree of aberrant treatment the Germans were capable of inflicting on all those who tried to thwart their plans. I thought to myself of how much pain war brings and I was disgusted that I too was the cause, albeit involuntary, of the pains that tormented my parents in those days. My father's prudence was worth nothing: now we were all, and not just us, at the mercy of an enemy who had no scruples or pity. Speaking of my father, I like to remember that it was he, thanks to his experience as a prisoner of the Germans, who advised the Sonaglia family, since the winter of 1943, to dig a hole under the floor of the hut, a pit of about two meters of depth, adequately large, to hide, before the passage of the front, some food supplies and the little linen of the wedding trousseau, kept in the famous "trunk" which, at that time, almost all women, married or about to marry they had. I and my cousins Sonaglia did the excavation of that underground compartment: Elvio, Pietro and Luigi, known as Nino, whose real and first name is Lenin, a name that today, but above all then, in 1922, had an irresistible charm. When Eusebius, Lenin's father, went to the Civil State to "mark" him, register him, no one objected and in the birth register of the year 1922 the child was registered with the name of Lenin. On the other hand, those who objected and did not accept that the newborn was given this name, was the parish priest of the parish of Montemigiano, Don Pericle, despite the insistence and grievances of his father, refused to mark him with that name and entered him in the parish register with Luigi's name. The child thus had two names for several years, that of Lenin for the State and that of Louis for the Church. Later, when Eusebio went to the Civil Status of the Municipality to have the birth certificate of his son to enroll him in the vocational training school, the clerk, reading that "name" on the card, was stunned, but could not fail to issue the certificate. The headmaster of the school did not behave in this way, refusing to register him with that name. For this reason Lenin risked not being able to attend school. The father, who did not intend to have his son interrupt his studies, went to the Court of Perugia and asked to change his son's name. The Court issued a sentence, duly transcribed in the birth book of the Municipality of Umbertide, in which it is declared that from that day the name Lenin was "written and must be understood" as Luigi. Evidently the fascist power also considered an 11-year-old boy with the name Lenin, as an enemy, a "subversive". From the Sonaglia home I reached the one of the Pinzaglia family in a few minutes. It is the farmhouse that was then owned by the Boncompagni estate (Fontesegale) and which is located upstream of the Niccone school. In this farmhouse many young people who resisted the calls to arms of the Nazis and Fascists found hiding places. Being eighteen or twenty at the time and living with what little membership guaranteed was difficult. For what was given to us we thanked with the only coin we could dispose of: every now and then we lent a hand in the work in the fields. Another heartfelt thanks. In that house, also in consideration of the good relations existing for a long time, I had always found an excellent welcome. Since the winter of 1943/44, many of us young people from Niccone who had not responded to the enrollment ordered by the German and Fascist tenders, found great help and understanding with this family. often in the company of rats, in order to escape “possible roundups by the Nazi-fascists. Among those young people I remember with emotion Ezio Forni, a giant about two meters high, whom he will later find together with his brother Edoardo, called Piri, aged sixteen, and his father Canzio, one of the many and good stonecutters of Niccone, horrible death in the massacre of "Penetola". Those who know the peasant world, especially of that time, know that when there are certain jobs to be carried out such as harvesting, sowing, forage, tobacco, grapes, they cannot be postponed to the next day, risking, for a hailstorm or otherwise, of losing the harvest and that, Sunday or a holiday, it is necessary to work on time. For this reason, that Sunday in the fields they worked, where it was possible, to harvest the wheat; now near the end of June it was tradition that for the feast of St. Peter it had to be the harvest completed. The Pinzaglia family had also started this work and I contributed by tying the "grigne" of wheat. When the sun went down I returned to the Sonaglia family, where my father was waiting for me, who in the meantime had inquired: according to what was said, it seemed that everything had returned to "normalcy". Together we resumed, very carefully, the way back from the “Fornacino”. Although my father had a bicycle at his disposal, we retraced together the same path that I had taken in the morning, through the farm roads, leaving the "main road" which could have reserved for us the meeting with some patrol of German soldiers or with the sentries who they had been placed to guard the various bridges and bridges that had been mined for some time by German soldiers close to retreat. Passing through the Arcaleni and Pinzagli houses, always part of the Boncompagni property, we came to the Sassetti family and here we found several people, especially young people, who like me had moved away from the "Trinari" area, and were afraid to make the decision whether to return or less with their families or maybe stay for just one night "out of the area threatened by German soldiers. My father decided to go home, also because my mother would have been alarmed if at nightfall she hadn't seen any of us return. A he told me to stay around and the next morning we would meet again to bring me new news. We were about to leave when two people arrived whose names I do not remember, who informed us about what had happened in the morning at the "Trinari" house. German soldiers, encamped in the area, began, under the threat of weapons, to kidnap all the men found nearby and, after having locked them up in the drying room of the abacco, kidnapped two young women who, always under the threat of weapons, were raped in turns. When Epi saw that the German soldiers were closing the men in the drying room, she thought that they wanted to take these men to Germany, or pass them by arms, and for this reason she immediately took care to go from house to house to warn of the danger. The story filled us with anguish and terror, I thought of my mother and my sister who were left alone at home; those soldiers could have used the same violence against them as well. I left my father telling him that if necessary, he would find me at the house of the Ormindo family, a dear and very good man who was a "cellarman" at the Boncompagni estate, in the large "farm" of Fontesegale, where I too had worked for some time as aide to the Mistruzzi factor. The farm is located between the hamlets of Cioccolanti and that of Montecastelli. GRIDA DISPERATE DI UNA DONNA FROM NOW ANOTHER DAY Rather short in stature, red hair and a friendly face full of freckles. He worked as a "cellarman" together with Lucchetti, and I must say with excellent results if the wine from that farm was considered one of the best in the area. I challenge many of the wines of today in comparison with that wine from Fontesegale. I also had the opportunity to appreciate Ormindo for his high sense of attachment to work: in any weather, even in the coldest months, he never lacked despite the fact that he lived about three kilometers from the farm, a distance that he always covered astride the "pants'" . I spent the night sleeping in the hut near Ormindo's house and the house inhabited by the Biagini family, known as “Beppetto”, in the company of other young people whose names I don't remember all of. Among these certainly the Alboni brothers, Gianni and Vittorio. Bruno Montanucci and others. The following morning, Monday 27 June, the harvest was resumed from Pinzaglia and. I remember perfectly, it was harvested in the fields near the house inhabited by the Morelli family, known as “Bichio” owned by the parish of Montemigiano. Around 11 we noticed two armed German soldiers, one of them with a wicker basket; they walked towards Ormindo's house. The soldier with the basket also wore a cook's "zinarola". I remember his teeth that I could see between his lips and that about half was made of steel teeth. Certain details are never forgotten. The harvest continued and I helped to tie the "grigne" of wheat. Suddenly Vittorio, the brother of Giovanni Alboni, a brave fighter of the “Cremona” division, who lost a leg in a fight in the Alfonsine area (Ravenna), arrived running out of breath and bleached in the face. Vittorio at that time must have been fifteen, he begged us to immediately find a pump to inflate the tire of a bicycle taken by the two Germans we had seen shortly before. If I don't take the pump to the Germans immediately, he told us, Bruno runs the risk of being killed. He did not even finish uttering the sentence that a gunshot was heard, coming from the very area from which Vittorio had arrived. Immediately the thought went to Bruno and we all assumed that the Germans had killed him. In no time at all, some on one side, some on the other, we all ran off to hide. The fright and fear were so great that I entered the first door I found; led to the stable of "Beppetto", I lay down in the "crib" in the midst of the snouts of some oxen. trying to cover myself with straw and hay so that, in the event of a check by the two Germans, everything would be normal. After a few minutes, I heard in the distance voices of men and women interrupted every now and then by a few words of incomprehensible German. When these people got close, I plucked up my courage and went out of hiding. joining the group. The two Germans, who were talking to each other, gave me the impression that they were half-smiling and this attitude made the situation less dramatic. What exactly happened? Why and by whom had the shot been fired? The two soldiers, arrived at Ormindo's house, asked his wife for a little fresh vegetables; the woman replied that she did not have any, neither in the house nor in the garden and to make sure she invited the two soldiers to follow her to the nearby garden. Once on the spot the two soldiers saw leaning against the hedge that delimited the perimeter of the garden, a bicycle and took possession of it. One of them got on the bike, but got off immediately as the tires were completely flat. For this reason they asked Bruno, who was nearby, for a pump to inflate, threatening him, if he did not immediately proceed, to shoot him. This was the background that led Vittorio to look for a pump from us. When the two Germans returned to the garden, with the bike next to them, together with Ormindo's wife, the latter, to lower the tension that had been created, went into the house and went out with a flask of wine to offer it to the Germans. They, perhaps fearing a trap, before drinking it made everyone present taste a little and then gulped down all the contents. DA ORMINDO UN ALTRO GIORNO BRUNO'S STORY “I too, like many young people of 1925, was a“ deserter ”as I fled from the“ Biordo Michelotti ”barracks in Perugia, which at that time was in Corso Cavour. To "escape" I had jumped an outer wall of the barracks that overlooked a small ring road and which had a height of five to six meters, but at that moment it seemed much lower. After an infinity of adventures and fears from Perugia to Umbertide, I managed to get to my house which was located above the town of Niccone, owned by the Gnomi family. Since the house, not far from the national road, was easy prey for the retreating German troops, protagonists of real cattle raids and anything else that happened to them, we decided in the family to remove the animals, in particular the oxen, in open countryside, as far as possible from the communication route. I moved with the cows near the Pinzaglia, Morelli and Biagini families, to the word "Simoncelli". I was guarding my livestock, or rather mine and that of the owner, who grazed near the houses, when two German soldiers, I learned later, who were staying in my house in Niccone, suddenly emerged from the vegetation, forced me, under the threat of weapons, to follow them. One of the soldiers had with him a bicycle that he leaned against a plant and, having removed the rifle from his shoulder, bullet in the barrel, with a very scrambled Italian, he asked me if I had a pump to inflate the tires that were on the ground. The other soldier had continued to walk and was no more than twenty meters ahead of us. To the strange request of the soldier I replied hoping to make him understand that I did not know anything, neither about the bicycle nor the pump. To my negative answer, the German raised his rifle and fired. The bullet passed within inches of my head. The other soldier, unaware of what had happened behind him, when he heard the blow he gave his legs up, stopping only when the "comrade" ', with words incomprehensible to me, managed to make him understand that the blow had started from his He went back and as soon as he reached us, he engaged the bayonet, put the bullet in the barrel, pointed the rifle at my body, telling me to keep my arms raised, and began to shout that there were partisans. "Be partisans" he kept saying , without the other soldier, the one who had shot, saying anything. I thought I was being killed. I was in that situation close to death, when Ida di Pinzaglia passed by, unseen by the Germans. glance, he accelerated his passing until he disappeared in the middle of the vegetation. I later learned that Ida, meeting some people, had already narrated my death and great was the surprise she felt when, a short time later, she saw me wandering around safe and sound in the vicinity of guard de "my" cattle. In fact, the two Germans, perhaps tired of threatening me, had let me go and headed towards the house of Biagini and “Ormindo”. I would like to add another detail to Bruno's story. When the soldiers, even after Ormindo's wife had offered wine, kept repeating that the partisans had fired, I looked for the shell of the bullet near the area where the shot was fired; I found it and showed it to the soldier; he laughed and kept repeating "here partisans, we will return", "here partisans, we will return". All this happened around eleven in the morning. The two soldiers left, taking their bicycles with them, albeit with flat tires: they were always ready to raid anything, even of little value. So much so that a few days earlier, on a Sunday afternoon, always in pairs and armed to the teeth, they came to my house from the “Fornacino” and opened all drawers and small drawers in search of some valuable object. This time they were satisfied with a few bars of soap and a few handkerchiefs. Convinced that the threats pronounced in the morning would not be followed up, we remained to discuss for a few minutes and then, tired of the work of the harvest and still gripped by fear, some on one side, some on another we went to eat, making an appointment for the afternoon in a hut near the home of the Biagini family. I had lunch with the Pinzaglia family. Around two in the afternoon we found ourselves in the hut. There were many of us, all from seventeen to twenty-four, young men and women, who instead of taking a nap to rest preferred to spend a few hours together talking a bit of everything; the main topic was always war. We talked for some time and then some, overcome by fatigue, forgetting what had happened in the morning, fell soundly asleep. Two or three others and I stayed awake continuing to talk about our problems, in a low tone of voice, so as not to disturb the rest. About twenty minutes passed. our conversation and the sleep of the others were abruptly interrupted by the din of the door suddenly opened and slammed against the parapet. Not seeing anyone, we thought of a sudden gust of wind. Not even the time to assess whether it was really the wind that opened the door with such violence that we saw the barrels of two rifles held by the two Germans in the morning emerge. Suddenly the threats uttered by the two came to mind; fear and fright made us utterly mute. One of the soldiers, shouting like a maniac "raus-raus", with the barrel of his gun forced us to leave the hut. When we were all outside, still with their guns pointed at, they grouped us together. While one checked the group, the other put the rifle back on his shoulder and began questioning us one at a time. The first to be called and brought a few meters from the others was me. The German, with words pronounced in a crippled Italian, with the help of gestures, asked if I was the owner of the bicycle they had taken away in the morning; he called her "mascine"; she also asked why she had not been provided with the pump to inflate the tires. I was desperately trying to make him understand that I didn't know anything about what had happened in the morning, that I wasn't the owner of the "mascine" and didn't even know who he was. As I tried to make myself understood, I pointed out my dirty and scratched arms and said that I was at the harvesting work and that I didn't know anything about that damned bicycle. I kept repeating over and over, “io arbait, io arbait”. But he didn't want to understand and angrily repeated that I was the master of the “mascine”; suddenly he took the rifle off his shoulder, and put the bullet in the barrel, pointed it in my stomach, continuing to scream. I believe that no pen can describe the terror that pervades a person threatened in that way. Feeling the gun barrel loaded and ready to shoot at you is hallucinating; it is no longer even possible to speak; incomprehensible words are pronounced, without any meaning, only stammering. I don't remember how many minutes, or maybe seconds, I remained in that situation, when the other soldier, with a slightly hinted smile of pity, turned towards the ward and shouted "kaput, kaput". Terrible word that millions of men, women and children, ordinary people and without guilt, millions of innocent people had heard before they died: "kaput - kaput". This horrible word had the effect that can give a resounding slap to the unconscious: that is, I bring myself back to the harsh reality. I regained my courage and went back to explaining to the "inquisitor" that, not being the owner of the bicycle, I could not have the pump and that they would let me go. The German insisted "kaput-kaput". I cannot say how long that strange and incomprehensible "interview" lasted. Finally the soldier, having removed the rifle from my belly, took a few steps towards his dormitory and approached the group of my companions who remained waiting for "their turn" who had followed the whole scene with fear. As soon as the soldier who had threatened me turned his back to go towards the others, with a sudden jerk I rolled down a steep "crag" and managed to disappear from his sight. For a few minutes I hid among the bushes at the bottom of the slope, my heart wanting to come out of my throat, straining my ear to try to hear a few words. After another few minutes, not hearing any noise, I went out of the hedge and in small steps, trying not to get noticed, I went away for the fields, hidden behind the rows of vines in the direction of the Sonaglia house. When I reached her, I told those who had seen me arrive overwhelmed by fear, what had happened. I was recounting the facts when we heard in the distance, again from the direction of the Biagini family, the terrible screams of a woman calling for help. From the tone of our voice we immediately realized that something serious was happening. A few minutes passed and everything seemed to calm down. Slowly I recovered from the fright at what had happened to me and walked back towards the Biagini house. I asked the people present what had happened. They told me that the two German soldiers, always the same, continued the interrogation of my other comrades. Then they moved away in the direction of Montemigiano which is a couple of kilometers from the house. The two soldiers passed in front of a little hut. far from the farmhouse of "Beppetto". A family of Niccone, also displaced, had found hospitality in the hut. A girl who was fifteen at the time was part of this family. When the Germans saw her, perhaps believing her to be alone, they rushed on her trying to rape her. Of this disgusting episode, which fortunately ended without serious consequences, I bear the direct testimony of one of the women who lived the hallucinating experience and who still today, almost forty years after the event, finds in talking to me the same dismay, the same emotions. and the same terror. It is Mrs. Anna, who remembers as follows: IL RACCONTO DI BRUNO THE MEMORY OF ANNA ......... "I had been married for about four years and my husband had been brought by the Germans to Germany as a prisoner of war after the events of September 8. I lived in Montecastelli but, due to the war, I was displaced together with my family who lived in Niccone, in a farmhouse in the parish of Bastia Creti and precisely in the place called “Mansala” not far from the hamlet of Spedalicchio, in the valley of the Niccone stream. That morning of Monday 27 June I returned to the Montecastelli house to take some objects and also to realize how the situation was in that area. Through the paths of the fields and woods, trying to avoid running into German or fascist troops. I came near a group of houses called “Simoncelli”, where the Biagini, called “Beppetto” and Ormindo families lived, not far from the parish house of Montemigiano. I knew that there were displaced families of Niccone with whom I was a friend; I decided to pay a little visit to feel how they were doing. One of these two families with whom I was on excellent terms had found refuge in a hut attached to the house of the colonist Biagini. A girl who at that time was fifteen years old was part of this family and, finding her at home, she stopped me talking. She told me she was alone because her parents were working in the fields helping the farmers. We sat down and started to tell about our life as displaced people. After a few minutes we heard noises around the hut. We got up to realize what was happening. We did not even get to the door when we saw the rifles held by the two German soldiers. Immediately one of them, pressing the rifle to my ribs. he threw me out of the hut and the other pounced on the girl, trying to throw her to the ground. The girl began to scream with all her breath in her throat, trying to defend herself with all her might from the German. Hearing cries for help coming from inside the hut, I too began to scream to get the attention of those who were in the neighboring houses; several came out and rushed towards me who was still screaming. When the soldiers realized that the situation was not turning, despite the weapons. in their favor, they fled in the direction of Montemigiano. thus leaving the girl free who, for the narrow escape, began to cry with joy. After some time, while we were still commenting on what had happened, we heard shots coming from Montemigiano. These shots alarmed us a lot because we feared that something serious might have happened. Then we learned that the shots were aimed at animals that the Germans wanted to kill to eat. I stayed for a few hours in the company of that girl and those who had helped us. I could not say exactly how much time passed, I only remember that someone again pointed out to us the two German soldiers who had passed a few hours earlier. At this sight I had a premonition: “just see what time he is going they take with me that I called for help. As I ruminated these words in my mind, I saw the two soldiers approaching. Then with small steps, walking backwards so as to always look them in the face, in order to understand their intentions, I tried to reach the colonist's house in order to enter and then close the door. One of the soldiers stopped and, loading his rifle, suddenly turned to the others who in the meantime were watching the scene, threatening them to stay still otherwise he would have fired. I remember well the one who had a "zinarola" over his trousers, perhaps he was a kitchen attendant, accelerated his pace and came even closer. When he was near he invited me to go with him into the garden. At my clear refusal he began to push me towards the cellar of the settler which was under the kitchen, in a basement. This too was used as a dormitory so as soon as the German saw a "net" he pushed me back badly and I could not help but fall on it. I started screaming for help, trying to free myself. Seeing my resistance and always holding my wrists, he began to violently stamp my feet with his boots, causing excruciating pain and small wounds that began to bleed. Nevertheless, I tried to resist with all my strength. Suddenly a woman appeared, no longer young, whom I immediately recognized as Angela Pinzaglia, the milkmaid who every day, morning and evening, brought milk to the inhabitants of the hamlet of Niccone. He was holding it in his hand a large falcinello and, bringing it close to the German's throat, forced him to leave me. The German, taken aback by the threat of Angela, took the rifle off his shoulder, with a quick gesture put the bullet in the barrel and facing the woman threatened her with the terrible word "kaput". Hearing this word. now sadly known to all, I hugged Angela and shouted “mom, mom. save me, ”I fainted. Later when I came to my senses I learned that one of the two soldiers had fired a rifle shot in the direction of the people present and that the bullet had passed so close to Bruno Pacieri that it had taken his cap off his head. Then the two soldiers, given the situation that had arisen, in the meantime other people had gathered who under threat of making them pay dearly, they had not gone without first pronouncing threats in German against everyone. Every now and then I, upset, would start screaming and fainting again. They laid me down on the bed for a while and when the sun began to set some willing. Bruno Pacieri, Renato Romeggini, Luigi and Nino Sonaglia with others accompanied me to Montemigiano. When I arrived and passed in front of the parish church that was open, I went into crisis again and, with desperate tears, I entered, thanking Our Lady for the narrow escape. I was terribly frightened that the parish priest, Don Pericle Tirimagni, realizing my situation, did not allow me to take the road back to the house where I was displaced, five or six kilometers away from Montemigiano. and hosted me in the house until the following morning parish church. "All these events took place on Monday 27 June 1944. In the evening, tired and exhausted from what had happened during the day, I went to sleep with many other friends and peers in the hut from which the German soldiers had forced us in the early afternoon, under the threat of weapons, to get out. IL RICORDO DI ANNA THAT JUNE 28 AT DAWN It was not yet dawn when suddenly some of us were awakened by sharp shots from firearms, occasionally bursts and even louder detonations. The exhaustion was so great that not everyone who slept with us heard these shots. Instead Bruno Montanucci, probably more accustomed than others to fatigue and the loss of a few hours of sleep, got up immediately, went out of the hut to realize what on earth was happening trying to see where the shots were coming from. Almost immediately he went back into the hut and woke up those who slept; he said that the house of "Bendino" in the word "Penetola", where the Ivorio and Luchetti families lived, was in flames. We all got up and went to see. The scene that was not completely visible at the first light of dawn had a terrifying aspect. In the meantime we continued to hear the fire of the weapons incessantly and we, terrified, wondered what on earth was happening; we tried not to think about the worst. From time to time we seemed to glimpse, through the smoke and the glare of the flames that flared up more and more, shadows walking around the house. As the daylight increased, the picture that appeared to our eyes took ever more precise contours, making the scene even more terrible. The fire was inside and outside the house. What happened? And why all those shots? Of partisan and guerrilla actions, not even talking about it. No training, neither organized nor in embryo, was operating in that area. The closest partisan formations operated in the Pietralunga area and in the Trasimeno area, which is also very far from us. We noticed that the cattle were in the fields around the house. The sight of cows, sheep, pigs grazing freely in the fields, instead of reassuring me increased our worries. If those shots weren't aimed at cattle, who had the Germans fired? And why had they set the house on fire? The idea that those shots, those volleys, could be aimed at men, did not even cross my mind. Not only mine, but not even that of those who were with me. We all refused to think that this level of barbarism could be reached for no reason. Then there appeared on the path that from the colonist's house leads, over a small bridge over the Niccone stream, towards the road to Mercatale and Cortona, eighteen armed German soldiers with backpacks on their shoulders that appeared swollen. They walked in single file and sang. Suddenly an isolated allied aircraft appeared in the sky, coming from the south. It was one of those small reconnaissance planes called "storks" for their resemblance to the well-wishing birds. The soldiers crouched down the slope that skirted the path, resuming the march as soon as the plane got lost behind the hills that looked towards Lake Trasimeno. We began to move away from the area, always looking at the German soldiers that we will lose sight of when they entered the middle of the vegetation that is along the banks of the Niccone stream. We went up the hill slowly, before returning to our houses, looking back to try to know the truth about what happened. Speaking of free cattle we all made a consideration, which unfortunately proved to be wrong. If the cattle were. free, even the people could only be free! Proceeding with caution, we passed near some peasant houses and Some of my friends separated from the group. Four or five of us remained to reach the Mazzoli house, a farmhouse also owned by the Boncompagni family, where other Niccone families had found hospitality. From time to time we met someone who asked us for news. When we arrived not far from the Mazzoli house, someone, perhaps Mario Tacconi, I don't remember well, briefly informed us about what had really happened. Terrible news. The shooting had caused several deaths. They were certainly all members of the Forni and Nencioni families. The fate of the other members of the colonial families was unknown. I didn't stay even a second longer to get other details that, taken by fright, I started running towards the Fornacino house where my family were. It was a breathless race, with my heart in my throat, with tears in my eyes. To the fright, to the pain, to the effort, there was added the thought for the fate of my parents. I wondered if the German soldiers, who had certainly passed on the way back near the house where we were displaced, had repeated the monstrous crime. What would I find of my family? Would I have found them alive? This thought, with the passage of time, became a nightmare and caused me more harm than physical effort; I kept running home; when I got close and my father, who in the distance had noticed me running in an unusual way, came to meet me. Only when he saw me did he have the feeling that something terrible had happened. I hugged him and asked him how the others were doing. What I felt knowing everyone was fine, I can't describe. I burst into tears of joy at knowing them all alive, and of pain for what had happened to Penetola. I told in a few words, stammering and crying what had happened. They too, although further away, had seen columns of smoke coming from that direction. They had not been able to explain why. They were thinking of a fire in the forest or other brushwood. Now he knew. He tried to cheer me up, but could hardly find words. Knowing the brutality of war and knowing what the Germans were made of, it was now necessary to be constantly on the alert and with eyes wide open to prevent, if possible, other episodes. Now another reason anguished us. In the house where we were displaced, Nello Migliorati's family had also found hospitality; whose wife Annetta was the sister of Erminia, one of the women murdered together with their daughters. How were we going to do it, where were we going to get the courage to tell her what had happened? I was certainly not in a position to tell him. It was my father's turn; with a half lie he said that there had been a shooting and that there had been very serious injuries. Nello had to immediately reach the locality "Penetola" where his relatives were displaced. I later learned that the sight that appeared in the eyes of the first who came was terrible. Women, men and children, even at an early age, lay on the ground, scattered all over the place. Some were even burned in different parts of the body so much so that the willing rescuers, to take them to the cemetery, had problems loading them into the farm cart. In truth of what I affirm, I say that Guido Medici, a fighter in the great war. several times sent to the assault with the bayonet and accustomed to the brutality of war, he kept a handkerchief over his eyes for several days. Like an automaton he wandered around the house where he was evacuated, with his head in his hands trying to forget the terrifying scene that had impressed itself in his eyes and mind. Also on this episode I have collected the testimony of Bruno who, contrary to what I had done, had always remained in the area to guard "his" cattle. .......... "A few hours after the shooting - so Bruno says - when the Germans had resumed their way back to Spedalicchio for a few minutes, from where the soldiers responsible for the massacre had arrived, continuously following looking at the surrounding area, I saw a man, who I later learned was Domenico, known as Menco, a relative of many murdered, running away from the house holding his hands on his face and shouting in despair. With the other locals, I Marcucci. the Sassofrasso, known as the "Mosconi". and the Angeloni, called the "Bistoni", went to meet him. In the midst of the cries of pain he told us what he had seen and begged us to take a chariot to take the dead to the cemetery. Some went to Penetola's house, I with the others went back to take the cart. I did not go to load the dead and awaited the return of the sad load together with the custodian of the cemetery who was the “Vecchio del Moro”, Giorgi. They arrived with the tragic load which consisted of six bodies. They were those of Forni Canzio with their sons Ezio and Edoardo and of Nenciohi, Ferruccio with his wife Milena, and Eugenia, Ferruccio's sister. Describing the scene is difficult. Even today, after almost forty years, it is not "possible" for me to speak without a magone who takes me by the throat. Eugenia and Milena's mother-in-law, Conforto, known as "Sostegno", another son of Erminia and brother of Ferruccio and Eugenia and the four teenagers of the Ivorio and Luchetti families. relatives and acquaintances ..... With my memories and testimonies told, could I consider the chapter of the "Penetola" massacre closed? Or was it necessary to also have the testimony of some survivor of the massacre? eyewitnesses what happened in that distant 1944? What right did I have to ask for the umpteenth time to tell that tragedy? Was it right to renew the pain and despair of the victims' families? or reflected on these questions. If these pages were to be the testimony of those tragic events, it was also not only right but essential that they be described and told by those who had been direct witnesses and victims of them. So I asked the person who suffered more than the others if he was willing to recall the terrible story. This person is Mrs. Dina Avorio, one of the few survivors still alive, who lost three children in the tragedy and who still bears the irreversible signs of that terrible tragedy in her flesh and spirit. QUEL 28 GIUGNO ALL'ALBA THE STORY OF DINA “At that time we were sharecroppers of the Montalto estate owned by the Gnoni family and we lived in the farmhouse called the word“ Penetola ”. We too, like thousands of other peasant families, did not shirk the moral duty of giving help to their fellow man and therefore, despite being a fairly large family, twelve people, we agreed to give a roof to those who asked for it: war and the front began to be felt very close. The families that we welcomed and to which we willingly gave a "accommodation" were that of my brother-in-law Capecci with his wife and a six-year-old son, that of Nencioni, made up of Ferruccio, his wife Milena, his daughter Giovanna, his mother Erminia; that of Fomi Canzio with his wife Rosa and children Ugo, Ezio, Edoardo known as “Piri”. Our family was made up of twelve people and precisely: me, my husband Mario and the children Renato of 14, Antonio of 11, Carlo of 8, Maria of 6 and Giuseppe of 4, my brother-in-law Luchetti Avellino with his wife Rosalinda and children Remo, Guido and Vittorio; another brother-in-law, Fernando, was in the military and therefore did not have our terrible experience. We had settled down like this: we, the Capecci family and Ferruccio with their wife and one of their daughters, Giovanna, were settled in the house as best they could. The Forni family and the remaining members of the Nencioni family, Erminia, Eufemia and Conforto were housed in the tobacco drying room, about thirty meters from home. Life went by in a "normal" way and we were all waiting for the allied troops, whose artillery shots we could distinctly hear over the hill towards Perugia, would arrive to take us away from the nightmare of Nazi-Fascist domination and war on the front line. A few days before that terrible 28th June 1944, Canzio's wife, Rosa and his son Ugo, left “Penetola” and found accommodation with the Domenichini family (known as Giancamillo), towards the locality of S. Anna. This was because Rosa had been seized by a strong fright due to the bombing actions of the allied aviation which gave no respite to the German troops now retreating towards the north. Our house was located about three hundred meters from the "Niccone road" which leads to Lake Trasimeno. At the point where you leave the road to reach our house, there is a small bridge that had been mined by the German troops. A few soldiers were employed as sentry on the bridge to whom one of my sons, Antonio, brought fresh milk from our cows every morning. The relations of all of us with the soldiers on guard at the bridge had always been very good, if not downright cordial to the point that one of these soldiers used to deal with me. when he called me and when I met him, the nickname "mami". In short, not a disagreement, never a gesture of intolerance, nothing that could arouse suspicion or anything else. At one o'clock on June 28th we were immersed in sleep, when we heard loud knocks on the door of the house on an external balcony which was accessed by a flight of steps. Not even the time to go and open it when a violent push opened it all wide with great noise. My husband Mario, who in the meantime had got out of bed, found himself in front of four soldiers in "German uniform" and with the insignia of the "SS" units. To my husband's question about what they wanted and the reason for that sudden visit, one of the four, "in perfect Italian", told him that outside the house there were other soldiers who wanted fresh water to drink. My husband went down the stairs, accompanied the soldiers who were out to the well not far from the house and after a while he returned. In the meantime, almost all those who slept in the house had gathered around the four soldiers, who were talking among themselves, without deigning us to look or to say a sentence. We asked the reason for that "visit" late at night, but no one answered. After some time one of them, not the one who had asked for water, told us that we were "partisans". It said: “banditen. banditen ". Then he added that they had been ordered to shoot us. Shoot us! For what reason? What had we done? To our protests of innocence they responded with mockery and kept repeating "all die, all die," banditen, banditen. "In the meantime, accompanied by the German soldiers who had remained outside, all the other people who slept in the tobacco drying that, under the threat of weapons, they had been forced to follow them. Terror was painted on everyone's faces. We kept asking for explanations, asking why we were sentenced to death, begging us not to do it because we were all innocent. Nothing we had committed. not a gesture, not a word that could have "offended the Germanic honor", but they continued with the usual phrase "all die, banditen." We again begged for our salvation or at least that of the children. charge small creatures because they deserved death? Nothing to do: not even the children were to be spared. We ALL had to die !!! we could no longer communicate even with each other! A "German" soldier arrived, one of those who had remained outside and forced us all to enter a single environment. Occasionally some other family members who had remained in other rooms would arrive. In the end we counted: we were 24 people. Before locking ourselves in this unique environment, we were literally stripped of all our possessions, even the most insignificant. Those who slept outside had suffered the same fate. They had been plundered of all their belongings before being led into the house. Once again, before all the soldiers left, we begged for safety. at least for children. Nothing, they didn't even answer. where some soldiers were on guard, we saw other soldiers accumulating hay in the adjoining rooms. The soldiers were constantly going outside and returning with large armfuls of hay which they systematically deposited in the rooms. Why did the soldiers pile up all that hay? Did they intend to use it as bedding to spend the night and maybe shoot them in the morning? We pondered this fact when acrid smoke and dense began to invade our room. The smoky air was unbreathable. We tried to escape in other environments, but the fire had already flared up and we were pushed back by the flames and the smoke.No one will ever understand what we felt in those moments, not even I would know exactly what happened.In that atmosphere of terror, I remember that one of the first to find death was my son Renato, who, wanting to understand what was happening outside, cautiously approached the window and, always staying behind the glass, looked out. A flash, an immense flame and a tremendous roar hit us. When I recovered from my daze, I looked towards the window and saw my son lying on the ground with a horribly mutilated arm and other wounds to his face. I approached to bring him help but he, perhaps aware of his imminent death, said to me “Mom, it's over, don't think about me anymore, think about my brothers. Try to escape from this hell ”. These were his last words. Death had come through a bomb that one of the soldiers stationed outside the house, had thrown against the window after having glimpsed the face of my poor boy. Those who had saved themselves from the explosion of the first bomb, left the room trying to take shelter in other rooms not yet reached by the flames. My husband and I were petrified by pain, close to our Renato, when another flash and another detonation tore through the room still saturated with the acrid smoke of the previous explosion. The "beast" had thrown another deadly device through the window, now torn up by the first bomb. I felt terrible wounds all over my body. I began to bleed in several parts, but I always remained conscious. I approached my husband looking for help, but he too was injured by the shrapnel of the deadly device, in the side and in the leg. Despite the injuries and the pain that was beginning to be felt, I tried desperately to be useful to my children. I had one, the youngest, 4-year-old Giuseppe who with his 6-year-old sister had escaped the massacre. Because of the smoke that impregnated the environment, Giuseppe fainted from time to time and I had to shake him so that he could resume "living". Always in the grip of terror we continued desperately to seek refuge in the environments still spared by the fire. I remember that in order to remove the flames we used vinegar that was in a "keg". We soaked the clothes in vinegar and then threw it against the door and the walls of the room that had overheated. We were thus able to extinguish some tongues of fire that licked the doors, opening a passage for us. The shots and volleys of automatic weapons continued to come from outside. I still have before my eyes the figure of Conforto who, with a knife in his hand, wandered from one environment to another trying to do something to get out of that pit of hell. In fact, with the strength of desperation, he had managed to break some tiles on the floor of a room that was above the sheep shed. Little by little he had managed to make a hole in the floor such as to allow, always with difficulty, the passage of a person. From this hole he had his sister Eufemia descend first, then his niece Giovanna. He then returned to our room and begged his mother, who was close to me, to go downstairs too. Erminia was reluctant to go down, but when Conforto told her that Eufemia and Giovanna had already got out, she followed her son and went down to the stable too. Comfort came down last. Later, when the tragedy was over; Erminia, Conforto and her mother, all three were found murdered by bursts of machine guns. Giovanna, on the other hand, was found with a slight wound in the shoulder, at the height of the neck, hidden under a cart in the farmyard. At one point I realized that three of my children, the older ones, were no longer in the room with us. I immediately went in search of them in those environments where it was possible to go. Nothing. Had they tried to escape the tragedy? But where had they gone from to go outside, if the main door that led to the stairs leading out was still burning? They had alighted from some window "? No one had seen them! Outside, there were still shots at times, albeit with less intensity. It was becoming more and more day and from the window we could see the surrounding hills and woods. Where were my three children? What were they? Had it happened? For some minutes we had not heard the gunshots anymore. I remained in the room for a few more minutes: the silence had become total. The soldiers had gone away? Not hearing any noise, I took myself to the window that faced the house of "Bendinello", a neighboring settler, who lived with the Bendini and Bioli families. Slowly I opened the window, but without looking around. a hill, four people looking towards our house. In one of these I recognized the owner of the farm, Gnoni Gio Batta. Always hidden inside, I tried with desperate feats of the hand to recall their and let him know we needed help. But they didn't see me, also because of the smoke still rising from the house. A few more minutes passed; we stayed in the house, we didn't risk going out. Besides, where could we get out if the front door was still burning? After a while my sister-in-law's husband, Capecci, managed to enter our room and took us to another room facing south. From the window of this room, with some sheets tied like a rope, he had made his wife, son and other people come out into the open. But of my children, nothing. Slowly I, my husband and others were lowered too. As soon as we hit the ground, without even standing up, we rolled up the slope like so many "empty cans". The terror, the pain of the wounds were nothing compared to the anguish of not knowing where my children had gone. Slowly, still on all fours, we entered the surrounding vegetation. The Ovens tried to escape from a window that was to the east of the house. Under the window was the enclosure attached to the pig barn. And it is precisely inside the “bregno” of the pigs that the lifeless body of Edoardo (known as Piri) was found, almost as if he were sitting on the ground. Those of the father Canzio and of the other son Ezio were a few meters away from the pig stall, slaughtered with machine gun shots. Ferruccio and his wife Milena were found near the main door of the house, almost on the balcony overlooking the outside. They had tried to escape the tragedy on that side but, seen, they too had been prey to the "beasts" lurking and shot down with machine guns. I don't know how long we spent in this situation. After a while we saw some German soldiers, accompanied by people in civilian clothes, coming towards us. What to do? Run away again? To go where? From their gestures it seemed to us that they wanted to tell us not to fear. But despite this, my brother-in-law Avellino didn't want to wait and in no time at all, he started running and disappearing into the thicket of the nearby wood. As the soldiers approached, they tried to make us understand that they had come to help the wounded and, if necessary, take us to the hospital. In fact, my husband and I, who had more need and urgency to be treated, were loaded onto a military van. They would take us to the Città di Castello hospital. During the journey, about 20 kilometers, we heard the soldiers talking among themselves and every now and then they uttered the words "partisans" "banditen". When we arrived near Città di Castello, through the provincial road of Trestina and we were over the bridge over the Tiber, we seemed to understand that the soldiers were willing to throw us down. In fact they stopped. Then they left again and they crossed the bridge. After crossing the bridge, finding no indications from the hospital, they took us back with the vehicle that was moving at a walking pace. And they always repeating “partisans, banditen”. An old woman appeared to whom the soldiers asked for information from the hospital, which because of the war had been transferred to the seminary in the center of the city. The old woman understood the word hospital and perhaps thinking she could not sufficiently explain the path and also given our condition, the wounds were bleeding profusely, she got on the vehicle and accompanied us to the hospital. The soldiers unloaded us badly by handing us over to the first service person they encountered. In handing over to us they repeated the usual words "partisans, banditen". Hearing these words, even the stretcher bearers who had arrived in the meantime remained undecided on what to do and almost did not intend to hospitalize us. After some explanations they understood the situation and gave us the first attention. On the other hand, the attitude of the hospital staff was also understandable as there was the death penalty for those who had assisted the partisans. During this whole ordeal my mind was always turned to my children. What happened to them? Had they managed to escape the tragedy? So why was no one giving me news? It was a constant torture. The next day or after “a few days, I don't remember, we received a visit from some German soldiers, including some officers. They wanted information and clarification on what had happened and if there had been any serious actions by any of us unleash violent retaliation. They listened to us and before leaving they said that the transport of the bodies to the cemetery had been authorized. I looked at my husband and we immediately understood that the tragedy had not spared our creatures. In fact, Renato, Antonio and Carlo had not escaped. A few days passed and the German soldiers returned to question us again, and again they made us tell the facts of that terrible night. We understood that there was no trace of those who had somehow received "offense" or of those who had authorized the retaliation in the German area command. Mystery. Our hospital stay lasted for about a month and when the wounds "of the flesh" began to heal, we were discharged and brought back to our remaining loved ones who, in the meantime, had moved to a farmhouse further upstream than ours, which had been destroyed. from the fire and the wickedness of "men". IL RACCONTO DI DINA THE OTHER VICTIMS For many years I lived with those poor victims in the same hamlet; I lived in the same building with the Forni family and therefore, knowing them well enough, I would like ... for what emerges from distant memories, to talk about them recalling some facts. Of the Forni family, who was closest to me, Canzio was the head of the family, Rosa his second wife and their children Ugo. Ezio and Edoardo (called Piri). As I have already mentioned, Canzio was part of that large group of Niccone stonecutters, for whom it is necessary to say a few words as their work was required and very important. In fact, most of the stonecutters of the municipality and neighboring municipalities were concentrated in the hamlet of Niccone. I list them according to my memories: Giuseppe Medici and his son Orlando (Guido), Menotti Nencioni, the Testerini brothers (Dante, Primo, Secondo), Canzio Fomi and Ferruccio Nencioni (victims of Penetola), Magino Faloci, Antonio Nanni, Carlo Mattioni , According to Magrini and, the only living ones, Marino Baccellini and Duilio Truffelli; the latter is the rebuilder of the Rocca fountain, which was rebuilt in 1978 by the municipal administration. Their specialty was the processing of “sandstone” or serena stone which they extracted mainly from the “Giappichini” quarries near Molino Vitelli, “Fariale”, near Mita and from Monte Acuto. This type of stone was used for pavement of sidewalks, for gutters, fireplaces, columns and doorposts, stairs, window sills. Some important works of these stonecutters are the facade of the parish church of Niccone, the external columns of the Collegiate church, the door of the town hall and some chapels of the various cemeteries scattered throughout the territory. The martyrdom of Canzio and his sons Ezio and Edoardo, according to reliable rumors of those who were in the house of "Penetola", can thus be reconstructed. Despite the guard that some soldiers kept at the windows, it seems that Ezio found a way to throw himself outdoors, followed by his father Canzio and his brother Edoardo. From the way the corpses of Ezio and his father were found, it seems that Ezio had managed to throw himself out of that hell and take a few steps in the direction of "life". Knowing that his father had jumped out shortly after, not seeing him, he turned back. Instead his father, seen by the Germans, had been mowed down by a burst of machine guns. Ezio saw him and stooped to help him; at that moment the Germans came out and he too was killed and fell face down on his father's body. From Ezio's position, the conviction arises that the facts have had this development. Edoardo was found by the rescuers, sitting on the ground with his back leaning against the wall surrounding the pig barn, as if he were sleeping. Perhaps he too had managed to climb out of the window, but not to escape the lurking "criminals". Ferruccio was also a stone worker and a passionate hunter; who does not remember his hunting tales? They were so precise in all the smallest details that when he told them he made us relive the scenes, the sensations, as if we had been present on the hunt. Ferruccio's mother, Erminia », his wife Milena, his sister Eufemia and his brother Conforto (called Sostegno), all met a horrible death in the tragic night. I have a vivid memory of Conforto (known as Sostegno), as together, he as a private owner, I as an intern, we met at the middle school license exam (Avviamento) and together we prepared for the exams. He worked in Milan at the tram company of the Lombard metropolis and since he wanted to progress in his career, he had returned to his native country to take his secondary school diploma. In Milan he would then undertake evening courses for working students and would have liked to graduate from high school. He was thirty-six at the time of his death, not married not because he lacked opportunities, but he said that before getting married he wanted to secure a better position. Eufemia, she too was not married, had always dedicated herself together with her mother Erminia and her sister Virginia (the only survivor of the tragedy because she was displaced elsewhere with her family) to manage Niccone's grocery store. Milena, Ferruccio's wife, was a talented and sought-after dressmaker for women. The two daughters, Gaetana and Giovanna, who were 13 and 5 years old respectively, were saved from the tragedy that struck the Nencioni family. Gaetana was displaced elsewhere with her maternal grandmother Settimia; Giovanna, finding herself in the place of the massacre, luckily managed to take refuge under a farm cart. The soldiers raged against her too, firing a few rifle shots that luckily failed. All this happened on June 28, 1944. After a few days, while I was walking through the surrounding countryside and precisely near the house of the colonist Ciubini, a sharecropper of the Boncompagni, I saw a black soldier approaching, holding a can, which looked like a mess tin; with a crippled Italian, with the help of his hand, he asked for fresh milk to drink. It was the clear sign that the nightmare was about to end and, now free from the fear of being "taken" by the fascists and the Germans, I ran like a colt not yet tamed, towards the house of "Fornacino" bringing the news to everyone. The next morning the bulk of the allied troops had already established, a few hundred meters south of the “Fornacino” house, a line of fire, which for a few days shelled northwards where the German troops had withdrawn. LE ALTRE VITTIME THE VICTIMS Penetola di Niccone (Umbertide), June 28, 1944 IVORY Antonio - 11 years IVORY Carlo - 8 years IVORY Renato - 14 years FERRINI Milena in Nencioni - 41 years OVENS Canzio - 58 years FORNI Ezio - 21 years OVENS Edoardo - 16 years LUCHETTI Guido - 18 years NENCIONI Conforto - 36 years NENCIONI Eufemia - 44 years NENCIONI Ferruccio - 46 years RENZINI Erminia in Nencioni - 68 years LE VITTIME Photo: Giovanni, known as Gianni Bottaccioli. Photos, like the whole work, granted by the daughters Elvira and Giovanna. Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com

The historic calendars of Umbertide Adriano Bottaccioli, the creator of the Umbertide Calendar and author of the illustrations and of the editorial and graphic project of all editions In the photo alongside, from left: Fabio Mariotti, Adriano Bottaccioli, Mario Tosti and Amedeo Massetti. Below, from left: Walter Rondoni, Fabio Mariotti, Adriano Cerboni, Amedeo Massetti and Mario Tosti with the cover of the second edition of the Calendar. The idea of an Umbertidese lunarium could only arise from the brain (and heart) of an emigrant-commuter fellow citizen, due to that particular sensitivity towards his own land that the distance develops; but Adriano Bottaccioli did not just pull the stone and hide his hand, as many "thinkers" too often do, but sharpened his formidable pencil and intellect to give his intuition a body full of warmth and collective intimacy . An editorial staff was set up around Adriano made up of Mario Tosti , Amedeo Massetti and Fabio Mariotti to whom Walter Rondoni was added who guaranteed quality and continuity of work and to whom other collaborators were then added year by year because good ideas, fortunately, are still contagious and many have been ready to have fun lending a hand, with the enthusiasm of rediscovering themselves part of a community, which comes from the same memories and moves towards the same goals and expectations. The Calendar, on its first release, aroused great surprise and huge success among the citizens, especially among the people of Umbria residents in other cities and abroad (to which was promptly sent): and they began to get enthusiastic letters from the City every where. All copies were snapped up (many requests they came even from nearby cities) and it was necessary prepare a second reissue. This convinced the municipal administration to continue the initiative, considered a important tool to strengthen even more the identity and values of the community and in the same time to fix historical and cultural aspects that otherwise they would have risked getting lost. 1992 calendar Read the calendar 1993 Calendar Laws the calendar 1994 calendar Read the calendar 1992 . The first edition of the Umbertide Calendar has the role of a lunario - almanac, presenting all the aspects of our cultural traditions: from the dialect to the idioms; from proverbs, to games, to nursery rhymes, to popular chants; from the typical dishes of our peasant civilization, to the nicknames that were once given to all the members of our small community. 1993 . The second edition the research on popular traditions and local linguistic aspects continued, but also the "ancient crafts" were included and "portraits" of Umbertidese characters were added who, for their originality and sympathy, had left their mark on the collective memory and were remembered by all with love. There were also memories of nice village events or famous jokes that occurred several decades ago, but still remembered by many. 1994 . The 1994 Calendar, continuing on the traditional mainstay, examined above all the events of the Second World War in Umbertide, with particular regard to the tragic aerial bombardment of April 25, which marked the fiftieth anniversary. 1995 calendar Read the calendar 1996 Calendar Read the calendar 1997 Calendar Read the calendar 1995. The following year, 1995, saw a calendar dedicated to the "great trades" that have characterized the life of the city from 1900 onwards; the most important, those that have interested and continue to interest generations of Umbertidesi and those who have disappeared or risk disappearing in the name of a modernity that too often tramples on traditions and cancels creativity. 1996 . In 1996 the research on popular traditions was extended to twelve municipalities of Altotiberini, Umbria and Tuscany (Anghiari, Citerna, Città di Castello, Lisciano Niccone, Monterchi, Monte S. Maria Tiberina, Montone, Pietralunga, Pieve S. Stefano, San Giustino, Sansepolcro , Umbertide). The Calendar of the Upper Tiber Valley was born, distributed in many copies by the publisher Cerboni of Città di Castello. 1997 . The 1997 Calendar was dedicated to the rediscovery of the ancient districts of Umbertide, with the trades, games and characters that animated the alleys and squares of the time. Ramiro, Giovanni, Bigo Bago, Pàrise, Silvio de Santa Maria, L'Andella and Federico, 'The accountant Martinelli, Checco de Camillo, Peppe de la Fascìna, L'Ottavia, L'Alba de Budidò, Tomassino. 1998 calendar Read the calendar 1999 calendar Read the calendar 2000 calendar Read the calendar 1998 . 1998 was the turn of the historical associations of Umbertide which formed the soul of the city and involved thousands of people in their recreational, social, cultural and sporting activities. 1999 . Since 1999 the main theme of the Calendar has shifted towards historical research on Umbertide, based on the very rich material collected in decades of passionate research by Renato Codovini . The monuments and the most ancient defensive works of the past have begun to be examined in depth, often providing unpublished information, such as those on the "Saracina" tower at the beginning of the bridge, on the Collegiate Church, on the castle walls, on the door of San Francesco, on the great fourteenth-century dam on the Tiber. Numerous news also on the hamlets of Umbertide, such as Preggio, Pierantonio, Montecastelli. On the left, Renato Codovini 2000 . The nineteenth century was the main theme of the end of the millennium calendar. The nineteenth-century Fratta, albeit with the necessary brevity, has been examined in all its aspects: public safety, the administration of the Municipality, traffic and communications, agriculture, associations and institutions, music, theater and leisure, industrial activities, commerce, health, public education, the postal service, transport, the population. An unprecedented slice of life that has fascinated many people. Elementary and middle schools have adopted it as a news source for historical research on our recent past. 2001 Calendar Read the calendar Calendar 2002 Read the calendar Calendar 2003 Read the calendar 2001 . In 2001 the Calendar celebrated its tenth anniversary with a special edition that carried all those of its predecessors on its cover. The main topic was the eighteenth-century Fratta. Map of the siege of Fratta during the "War of the Grand Duke" Drawing by Adriano Bottaccioli 2002 . Always continuing on the historical trend, we arrived at the 2002 calendar, which dealt with Fratta in the seventeenth century, providing information of great interest on the life of our small fortified city in the seventeenth century. The famous “blacksmiths of Fratta” appeared there, the potters with their precious ceramics. The way to live, to dress, to have fun was described. The school, the music, the theater, the "hotels". The life and poems of Filippo Alberti, a famous poet and man of letters from Fratta, a friend of Torquato Tasso. Numerous curiosities. It contained the names of the families of the seventeenth century and their events. Finally, an accurate and exciting exposition of the "War of the Grand Duke" which hit Fratta in the autumn of 1643. The siege of the Tuscan army, the fortifications, the defense of the walls, the great flood of the Tiber. Until the general exultation for the narrow escape. 2003 . No less interesting was the 2003 edition, with the presentation of the laborious life of the Fratta of the sixteenth century. The first “photograph” left by Cipriano Piccolpasso in 1565 was published there, reproduced for the first time from the original - kept in the National Central Library of Rome - with the digital system. The quality of the enlarged image provided details that had not been possible to observe with previous photographic reproductions; many details of the castle and of the lower village emerged, with very interesting aspects of the architectural structure, of the military fortifications, of the productive activities of Fratta. Really exciting. Calendar 2004 Read the calendar 2005 calendar Read the calendar 2006 Calendar Read the calendar 2004 . The 2004 Calendar provided surprising information on the 15th century Fratta. The stay of Pico della Mirandola in our small village, chosen as the ideal place to write the "manifesto of the Renaissance"; the presence of a prestigious Jewish community; the many important figures of national importance who were born here, such as the illustrious jurist Giovanni Pachino and the pontifical archiatrist Andrea Cibo. News always drawn from the precious research of Renato Codovini . 2005 . After popular traditions, dialect, ancient crafts and historical research, a new phase has opened with 2005. This year's Calendar has in fact opened the line of images more important to everyone, than real family albums. A photographic story of the families of Umbria in the most significant moments of life. Edition that has achieved extraordinary success for the sense of intimacy and the high evocative value that it is successful to create. 2006 . The 2006 Calendar also continued in the vein of family images. The most important images for everyone, real family albums. A photographic story of the families of Umbria in the most significant moments of life. Edition that has replicated the success of that of the previous year, always for the sense of intimacy and the high evocative value it created. 2007 Calendar Read the calendar Calendar 2008 Read the calendar Calendar 2009 Read the calendar 2007 . This edition concludes the section dedicated to the images of the families of Umberto in the most significant moments of life. Three editions that have met with great success success for the sense of intimacy and the high evocative value that they managed to create, also involving citizens in the search for often forgotten photos. 2008 . The 2008 Calendar was instead dedicated to the knowledge and enhancement of important works of art in our Municipality. On each page of the month it was one of the great works that are part of the artistic heritage of the city and the territory. Signorelli , Pomarancio , Pinturicchio , Nero Alberti , Corrado Cagli , Ernesto Freguglia : the great artists who have left traces of their work in Umbertide. The graphic design in which the work was carried out is also splendid. 2009 . In 2009, however, the Calendar guided the visit to the Town Hall, formerly the luxurious residence of the Bourbon Marquis of Sorbello, which has been the seat of the local administration offices since 1841. A detailed illustration of this historic building, the heart of public life in Umbertide, of all its architectural features, and its notable artistic merits. In addition to the description of the "noble" floor - seat of the halls of the Mayor, the Council and the Executive - full of sculptures and frescoes, also detailed images and maps to improve knowledge of all the offices that provide services to citizens every day. Calendar 2010 Laws the calendar 2011 Calendar Read the calendar 2012 Calendar Read the calendar 2010. The 2010 edition completely changed the subject, turning attention to the world of work, to the vast productive world of our territory. Shops and workshops, factories and farms, construction sites, schools, hospitals, shops. Ingenious and creative craftsmen who qualify our productive world, competent and passionate entrepreneurs who face sacrifices and risks for their own company. It was surprising to discover the very high technological level of some companies and that certain products for brands of national importance, such as Fiat. Maserati and Ferrari are manufactured in Umbertide. 2011 . The 2011 Calendar was dedicated to the Tiber, to which the life of our city has always been linked. The story of Fratta on the river, a secure military defense and bringer of floods and destruction; the characteristic figures, the washerwomen, the fishermen, the "renaioli", the "bracelets", the carters. The characters who lived in symbiosis with the river, the fishing systems, the fluvial flora and fauna, the cuisine of the Tiber. Finally, the historical events on the Tiber, from the siege of the Tuscan army in 1643 to the aerial bombardment of 1944 which aimed at the destruction of the bridge. Fantastic illustrations: a highly evocative calendar. 2012 . The 2012 edition celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the calendar, with a special issue that retraced the history of the Umbertian lunar year by year, with an exciting ride back in time. We spent more than seven thousand days and 175 thousand hours together. Beautiful and less beautiful days, marked by joys but also by disappointments, successes and failures. Almost a lifetime, and we did it by discovering and rediscovering the history of Fratta, both the big and the small one, made up of many stories, anecdotes, characters who have left their mark on the community. 2013 Calendar Read the calendar 2014 Calendar Read the calendar 2015 Calendar Read the calendar 2013 . This edition was entirely dedicated to CUISINE , in particular the local one, with columns related to the theme of food: the recipe of the month, smells, spices, good herbs, mushrooms and truffles, the professions of food, magnà alla frattegiana, ristulzini 'ntorno al foco, food anthology. A particularly appetizing calendar in which the inspiration and competence of Adriano Bottaccioli were exalted. 2014 . The main theme of the 2014 edition is the Fratta of the nineteenth century which relives every year in the historical re-enactment in costume for the squares, streets and alleys of the historic center. The inns and taverns, the festive air, the shows and events, as people lived then, portraits from the 1800s, 150 years as a Umbertidesi. This edition was dedicated to Amedeo Massetti and Peppe Cecchetti who left us, the first a backbone of the Calendar since birth, the second great collaborator with his photographic art. 2015 . Umbertide between '800 and' 900: The 100 years of the Tiberis, the arrival of electricity in the city, the story of Zelmirina Agnolucci, the Rometti family and ceramic art, the Central Apennine Railway and the Umbrian Central, Leoncillo, the minimal anthology of writings on Umbertide . These are the topics covered. 2016 Calendar Read the calendar 2016 . It is the 25th edition and it is also the last one signed by Adriano Bottaccioli and his editorial staff. An exciting cycle closes with a calendar addressed, as a sign of homage and thanks, to the UMBERTIDESI IN THE WORLD . The history, the memories, the characters, the images of the many people from Umberto who went to seek their fortune all over the world, where they proved to be "... diligent, ingenious, solicitous and avid ..." as they were already defined, in the mid-16th century, by Cipriano Piccolpasso. Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com

Filippo Bottaccioli and the "great war" Curated by Francesco Deplanu and Isotta Bottaccioli Filippo Da Bologna a Doberdò La ferita e l'ospedale La Prigionia da Udine alla Polonia Dal Parisgeschutz alle bastonate Lamberto ed il padre ufficiale Lamberto e le lettere alla nonna Anna Filippo e la reazione all'ingiustizia Filippo racconta la Fame La stanza di Filippo Filippo Bottaccioli was born in 1895 into a very poor family, sharecroppers in San Benedetto. Last alive of 7 brothers and 3 others died shortly after birth. He went to France in 1914 in search of work but returned in 1915 for the call to arms. He was included in the Royal Army in the 15th Bersaglieri, 8th company. From there he wrote to his future wife Elvira Floridi. The postcards he sent from the front had a space to write a message, while those of the Habsburg Empire, multi-ethnic and multilingual, only had space for the name and surname with writings printed in more than 10 languages to greet loved ones. Elvira Floridi and some postcards sent by Filippo. Filippo wrote to Elvira in the space subjected to "military censorship", and then in agreement with her, words of love in the space under the stamp. Stamps that have all been detached. A form of communication to overcome the "moral censorship" of the time. In a rediscovered audio, recorded on an old cassette, Filippo, known as Pippo, told his story participation to the "great war" and his imprisonment. The audio was recorded in 1983 by Lamberto Beatini , Filippo's son-in-law having married his daughter, Isotta. In the recording, in addition to Isotta, also his consu-in-law Giannina, married to Orlando (Guido) Medici , one of Niccone's "stonecutters". Giannina used "you" to refer to Philip. During the first part of the conflict his health conditions made him unable to military activities for 13 months, he remained in the rear in Bologna due to the famous "flat feet", a feature that prevented him from being able to march quickly. With the continuation of the difficult conflict, however, he was judged completely skilled and sent to the trenches. It was the moment of the effort for the conquest of Gorizia, the sixth battle of the Isonzo. He was wounded in the foot in Doberdò on 08/16/1916. Da Bologna al ferimento a Doberdò 00:00 / 02:30 I remain little, therefore, in trench warfare; he was hospitalized and operated on with a 45-day convalescence. The story then becomes confused, subsequently he was captured near Udine and we are convinced that it was in the period of the defeat of Caporetto, in fact in the recording we hear "that arrived revolution ”which certainly alludes to the defeat and the chaos that followed, subsequently defines it as a“ great encirclement ”. Dalla ferita all'ospedale 45 giorni 00:00 / 02:55 This was followed by imprisonment in Austria, Poland, Germany, between France and Belgium at the time of the "Spanish", then between March / August 1918, and then again in Poland with the worsening of the conflict for the central empires. Da Udine alla Polonia 00:00 / 01:49 What we do know is that he was employed at one point as a railway worker on the line from where he fired the great German cannon at Paris. In fact, the prisoners were taken to concentration and labor camps both in the areas of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in the areas of the front in the hands of the central empires, such as between northern France and Belgium as happened to Philip. This is due to the forced labor of prisoners functional to war strategies. In the case of Bottaccioli he was taken to the north of France or south of Belgium to work on the railway that allowed the cannonade of Paris: the “Parisgeschütz” . From Wikipedia in French a representation of the effectiveness of Parisgeschütz. The Kaiser Wilhelm Geschütz, or the Kaiser Wilhelm cannon was a weapon that was used for mainly psychological purposes, to hit the enemy's capital. It fired from a great distance, at night, from the St. Gobain forest area. Dal cannone alle bastonate 00:00 / 02:19 Lamberto tried to help the story of Philip, who was suffering and was 89 years old, but also fits in with his memories. He told some facts about his father, Antonio Beatini, always involved in the "great war": war and personal stories. The hunger he suffered only once, when as sergeant major he captured 12 "Austrian" prisoners and gave them the Italian lunch to feed them; but also a memory that became familiar: his father, in fact, was writing correspondence for a friend of the same department, whose name we do not know, who could not write. Lamberto racconta la "fame" del padre An 00:00 / 00:30 He was in love with Anna Gregori and Antonio wrote letters to this girl for him. They were hit by an avalanche and the other died. Back after the war Antonio Beatini married in second marriage, Anna Gregori ... the mother of Lamberto; there his first wife, in fact, had died away from him during the conflict. Anna Gregori Lamberto racconta della nonna Anna 00:00 / 00:42 Returning to Philip of the imprisonment he told the hunger, which we will talk about below, and the severity of the jailers, the better the "Bulgarians" the worse the "Germans" even if for one of them who hit him with sticks, and Philip reacted by hitting him with a mess tin, reports in dialect an illuminating phrase "he was more nervous than cativo". La prigionia, la reazione... la tazza di 00:00 / 02:43 They weren't the extermination camps that will be seen 30 years later, here people were actually dying of hunger and disease. It is thought that of the 600,000 Italian prisoners, 1 out of 6 died in that period in various concentration camps and while traveling. The difficulties of a conflict that became "total war" and economic not only changed the battlefield and gave birth to the "trenches" but subjects the economies of the countries involved to an exceptional effort. Germany and the Austrian Empire did not even manage to feed their own population in the continuation of the war. For prisoners, hunger is therefore a daily reality. Thus the Central Empires will ask the Countries of the Entente to contribute to the survival of their military with military aid. France and England will accept while the Kingdom of Italy will refuse. In fact, for Cadorna those who had already been captured were guilty of having been not very combative, and also, then, to avoid that the rumors of a "good" treatment of the enemy could influence those who were still fighting. A hundred thousand died ... A story of cowardice was also propagated which gave rise to a hostility towards these "cowards". The "hunger" was recurrent in the memories that Filippo even after a long time: elaborazione audio nonno pippo fame 00:00 / 00:20 His daughter Isotta wrote other memories on paper: “ And you told of your imprisonment, when hunger was daily bread. One day, a prisoner in Germany, when your stomach was being torn apart by excruciating bites, you set out in search of something to eat. You happened upon a compost heap and saw potato skins among the garbage. Regardless of the smell and the place, you collected them, washed them and after a quick boiling in a rusty jar, you devoured them and the hunger subsided for a while ". And again “You told us again, and always with great emotion, that freed from captivity, with one of your companions, you came across a tub full of barley. You had a backward hunger and you considered this a blessing. With your head bowed, you began to eat handfuls, filling your long-empty stomach. At some point your common sense told you to stop, because you knew that the cereal, softened by the gastric juices, would increase its volume and the stomach would suffer. You also advised his friend to stop but the poor man did not have the strength and during the night his stomach "cracked" and he died in excruciating pain ". Eventually he returned home albeit with frozen feet. Philip, known as "Pippo" was a simple man, but rational and intolerant of injustices. In 1966, by now in his seventies, he briefly wrote down his life in a diary that his daughter Isotta wrote down; here is a passage: “ Having some free time, I am going to tell you about my life. You will pity my ignorance because my school stopped in the first grade and a few months from the second evening. I was born in 1895 in S. Martino, near San Benedetto. I try to describe my home where I was born. A kitchen all black with soot. A large fire, a chamber. A grain-free barn. The Furniture: a small table, a very thick wooden table. No chairs at all, but two long oak benches instead of chairs. The room: two trestles with relative tables on which there were the mattresses. On the ground a tablet with a trap to kill ... what can you imagine. We had straw mattresses. A good thing was the wool coltrone. In the mattresses besides the straw there were also the maize leaves. In the kitchen, pots, pans, a few plates and glasses, forks and spoons. There were two large caissons. One box belonged to my mother who is still here in the house, the other has been destroyed. There were two looms for making the canvas. Some shoemaker and carpenter tools. I could write a lot, but it would take a writer and I know so little about it . ". Pippo Bottaccioli outside his house at the "Fontanelle". Photo of Niccone from the 60s where he lived for a long time. Poverty and the inability to study were his concern, the importance of culture was a requirement that became a value and pushed all his children to graduate and many of his grandchildren to graduate. A pride for him. From being the son of a sharecropper in San Benedetto, after the Great War he became a barber in Niccone. The twenty years and the second world war arrived that saw him anti-fascist and communist. He opened a wool shop right in the historic center of Umbertide. He died on June 14, 1985. Pippo Bottaccioli came back, he was lucky ... but many boys did not come out alive from the collective experience that was the "great war". For years, the historian of Città di Castello Alvaro Tacchini has reconstructed the human losses that our area of the Upper Tiber Valley suffered on his personal website www.storiatifernate.it . He also took care of taking a census of the 268 fallen of Umbertide. Thus he writes: " The list of names of the 268 fallen of Umbertide. Of them, 63 died of disease, 17 in captivity, 20 are missing ". We highly recommend that you read it. Inside the page you can see the day of death, the reason and the place of burial of each individual deceased. At the end of the page you can download an attachment with the same data but with some images of documents related to Pupils Ernesto Tullini, Domenico Caldari, Ciocchetti Olinto and Spinalbelli Achille. http://www.storiatifernate.it/pubblicazioni.php?&cat=48&subcat=104&group=234&id=374 Alternatively, you can search individually or by municipality from the site https://www.cadutigrandeguerra.it on the page https://www.cadutigrandeguerra.it/CercaNome.aspx. To find all the members of the Municipality it is enough indicate in the box "Comune in Albo", for example, the term ... Umbertide . https://www.cadutigrandeguerra.it/CercaNome.aspx The young Umbrians who died in the "great war" were, however, really many more, about 11,000. To be exact 10,934, of these almost a thousand died in captivity, exactly 964 people. At this link you can have news on the complete list of the Umbrian dead in the war: http://www.gualdograndeguerra.com/images/stories/pdf/prigionieri-umbri.pdf Image of Italian prisoners in Germany during the second world war. Notice the jailer's staff. Image from: https://www.raicultura.it/storia/articoli/2019/01/Lodissea-dei-prigionieri-094ea220-5eba-4b49-af34-3a64c831649d.html (photo 8) Sources: - Oral and written sources Isotta Bottaccioli - Audio cassette from 1983, Isotta Bottaccioli / Beatini archive - https://www.raicultura.it/storia/articoli/2019/01/Lodissea-dei-prigionieri-094ea220-5eba-4b49-af34-3a64c831649d.html - https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parisgesch%C3%BCtz - http://www.storiatifernate.it/allegati_prod/02-caduti-umbertide.pdf -http: //www.gualdograndeguerra.com/images/stories/pdf/prigionieri-umbri.pdf - https://www.lagrandeguerra.net/Presentazioni/Isonzo/isonzob.html - http://www.esercito.difesa.it/storia/pagine/f6-offensiva-isonzo.aspx - http://www.deportati.it/static/pdf/TR/2001/marzo/14-01%20marzo.pdf Photos and postcards: Isotta Bottaccioli / Beatini Archive Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com Da Bologna a Doberdò La ferita e l'ospedale Filippo La Prigionia da Udine alla Polonia Dal Parisgeschutz alle bastonate Lamberto ed il padre ufficiale Lamberto e le lettere alla nonna Anna Filippo e la reazione all'ingiustizia Filippo racconta la Fame La stanza di Filippo

Lamberto and the Resistance curated by Isotta Bottaccioli and Francesco Deplanu After the 8th of September 1943 Lamberto Beatini, coming from a family of republican faith, at 19 he refused the call to arms of the Republic of Salò e together with a friend he went into the woods; after a few months he was captured and locked up in the prison of Perugia; Lamberto besides the fear of not leaving that place said "being imprisoned because you refuse war, weapons, violence, oppression, injustices is something that causes you pain and a lot of anger". He saved himself and over the years he became the "Maestrone", a man of the school so called because he was more than 1.90 cm tall. Years ago he told his second wife, Isolde, what happened in that period. Isotta recounts: “ rather than fighting alongside the Nazi-fascists, many young people preferred the bush. Making this courageous choice was very dangerous because we were considered deserters and, if caught, punishable by the death penalty ”. Lamberto made this choice one evening in September 1943 together with a friend of his from Umbria, Antonelli, left towards S. Cristina. The two walked through woods and fields and tired, they stopped behind a haystack not far from a farmhouse. They lay down on a pile of straw and suddenly fell asleep. During the night it started to rain but the two noticed it when they woke up wet and dirty. After a "sgrullata" they set off again and finally reached S. Cristina where, bravely, they were hosted by a relative of Antonelli. A different life began for Lamberto and his partner. Early in the morning they left the host family and were hiding in the nearby woods, returning at dusk. Some evenings, through shortcuts and away from the main road, they went to Lamberto's sister, Costantina known as Gosta, in Civitella Benazzone who, as soon as she saw them, began to make her good tagliatelle. With a full stomach they resumed their way back in the middle of the night. The mother Anna, to see her son again, following alternative routes to the normal ones because she was afraid of being followed, in the early morning she left Umbertide to go to S. Cristina. The road ahead was long and there were many climbs, but for her there were no obstacles, no weariness; the goal was too precious not to be reached at any cost. When the carabinieri knocked on the door of the Beatini family to ask where the deserter son was, the mother replied: << I wish I knew! I would run to him. I really want to see him again. >>. The two deserters spent three months in the bush and in December, perhaps due to a spying on them, they were discovered and taken to prison in Perugia. The stay lasted six months and marked Lamberto so much that when he recounted certain episodes, after so many years, his eyes were shadowed by so much sadness and sometimes tears. After having crossed the door of the prison that Lamberto called << college of Piazza Partigiani >>, his personal details were taken, his fingerprints were taken, everything he had in his pockets was removed, his belt and shoelaces were removed. While awaiting questioning, he was placed in a small cell with other inmates. A few days later he began his tiring interrogation. For a few hours he was asked the same question very firmly and harshly, always in the hope of making him fall into contradiction. So much was the mental fatigue and tension that from the high shoulders sweat was coming out of his coat. At the end of the long interrogation a graduate entered who abruptly asked Lamberto for his personal details. << I'm Lamberto Beatini, son of Antonio and Anna Gregori >>. At this name the Captain stood up and after a loud blasphemy he said \ u0026lt; \ u0026lt; Are you Anna's son? Do you know your mom is my milk sister? but what did you make me do ... >>. But by now Lamberto was in prison, the gear had been set in motion and the superior was also a prisoner of certain laws. For two or three days Lamberto was fasting because the food of the "college" just looking at him made his stomach sick. On the third day, hunger prevailed and he managed to eat a soup where bits of cabbage leaves floated among a few stars of fat. A once he removed 17 flies from the broth before eating it. " In his cell they put a man from Torgiano accused of insulting the fascist party. While he was reading a manifesto of the regime signed by the notorious Rocchi, he voluntarily made a huge burp. It happened that at that moment a fanatic fascist hierarch passed by who, taking the poor man for the collar of his jacket, scrambled him and denounced him.The man was tried and sentenced to a prison sentence.The unfortunate fell into a bad depression could not eat. Not far from Lamberto's cell, on the so-called death row, there was a convict. Nobody knew the reason for the sentence, but everyone thought it was for political reasons. The guards said that the young man knew he was going to die and every time they opened his cell, the young man changed. His body tensed and his complexion turned yellow, as if his blood stopped. This swing of very strong emotions made him lose all hair and hair. Once Lamberto saw him pass between two agents and I am impressed by his thin head, smooth, shiny as a billiard ball, by his thin and blood lips and by two black eyes without lashes and eyebrows that seem to come out of their sockets. That night Lamberto did not sleep because he always had before him the hallucinating visions of this young man. Fortunately, the war ended and the poor fellow was released from prison. Every time he recounted this episode on Lamberto's face one could read the suffering and also the anger at the bestiality of war and dictatorship. A different fate touches another young anti-fascist who was shot a few days before the liberation. This was Mario Bricchi, whose sister Gloria was a high school companion of Maria Teresa Beatini, nephew of Lamberto. " Isotta tells that Lamberto used to tell ... "When my daughter Anna asked me what was the best day of your life I replied: the day I got out of prison. Anna was upset because she knows how much I wanted it, the great love I feel for her. But Anna is a joy that I have tasted minute by minute since I learned it existed, for eight months he was the center of my thoughts, so his birth was a long and beautiful wait. My release was, however, the end of a great nightmare of which I was not sure I could get out alive. Often when i my companions slept, I too closed my eyes and began to dream. I dreamed of my future beautiful, serene, bright, full of girls and love; instead I opened my eyes and saw darkness, not a glimmer of light. Hope alternated with despair and resignation. A whirlwind of emotions me it invaded continuously. Being imprisoned at twenty for your ideas that you find human right, being imprisoned because you refuse war, weapons, violence, oppression, injustices is something that causes you pain and a lot of anger. I remember, still with sorrow and sadness, long afternoons in April and May, when behind the bars I glimpsed trees with their new leaves, when the spring air full of perfumes entered the cell, when you could hear the loving calls of birds and the voices playful of children playing in the street. It was the time of memories, of nostalgia, of sadness. Then I would lie down on my "straw mattress" and think of my family and my friends who free, they could be among themselves, be with their girlfriends, have lunch and dinner with their loved ones, look and touch the spring. Certain sensations, both good and bad, cannot be told, but must be lived to know what one feels and to be innocent in prison, at twenty years old, when someone like me who loves life, light, the heat of the sun, colors, people, freedom, love, is a condition that I do not wish on anyone. "... Isotta continues: "On June 13, 1944, the day of St. Anthony, the prison door opened for Lamberto and his friend Antonelli. Outside the prison door two stopped, looked 360 degrees and took a long sigh of relief. They were free together and began a journey that would bring them home. Passing by chance they arrived at Ponte Felcino in Ponte Valleceppi where grandmother Clorinda lived. They all presented themselves happy about his house, but immediately they cooled down because some German soldiers found him in the house. The moment was embarrassing, but grandmother Clorinda understood the situation and speaking and gesticulating he made the Germans understand that two of them were mentally ill. Which was not difficult because Lamberto, due to the absence of movement, was so swollen that it seemed swollen. He wore trousers that reached the calf of his legs, wore two shoes without very broken laces, the jacket covered the back and a little of the front, the sleeves reached just below the elbow. On the contrary Antonelli, also tall, was dry, lanky, frightened, I looked like a dead man walking. The fact is that the Germans, as if frightened, said goodbye and left. Grandmother Clorinda then greeted them with great warmth, kissing and hugging them, then, quickly, quickly, she began to cook. After being refreshed, they set out along the railway in the direction of Umbertide. In Ponte Pattoli They separated. Antonelli headed for Santa Cristina where he would find his family displaced by relatives, Lamberto continued in the direction of Umbertide. The road was very long, the boots became heavier and heavier, the damaged and swollen feet no longer fit inside the shoes and began to bleed; finally he arrived in Montecorona and felt relieved, in sight of the town he thought to the meeting that his loved ones. He headed for the house of "Guardengolo", a farmer who gave hospitality to his family and that of his brother Pietro. Meanwhile, from the loggia of the farmhouse, mother Anna and Pietro's wife Marietta saw at the end of the road a big fat man walking with difficulty. The two women, a little frightened because they were alone, wondered who he was and what he wanted. As Lamberto approached he made signs of greeting with his arms but the two women remained impassive. Only a few meters away did they recognize him. The mother Anna started running crying with joy and hugged her son in an embrace that never seemed to end. " On 23 July 1944 Lamberto, together with 21 other people from Umberto I, gave life to the Local Committee for National Liberation in the hall of the municipal council. After the war Lamberto yes he adapted to do many small jobs: it was important and necessary to bring something home because it was needed. He worked for the Land Registry, for the Municipality, then he began to study for the master's degree competition which he passed brilliantly. He taught in Colmotino di Cascia, in Reschio, in Civitella Ranieri, ad Umbertide ... then dissatisfied with the teaching he began to work in the secretariat of the elementary school, a job that he did with seriousness, commitment and great competence until 1979. We report here the letter of greeting from Director Candido Palazzetti when Lamberto left school. Maestro Beatini on the step and Director Candido Palazzetti on his left, to his right the other Director Spadoni. In the photos at the beginning we have we report the documents of the Anpi as a "partisan" and the card of the CGIL, the union close to the communist party to which Lamberto joined. Here under the public recognition that the mayor of Umbertide Celestino Sonaglia, in 1974, gave to Lamberto for his being a partisan. In the meantime Lamberto had committed himself body and soul to give life and strength to the section of the Avis of Umbria, donating from the very beginning in person, even directly, that blood that he did not want to shed. In 1959, in fact, Dr. Mariano Migliorati promoted a "Committee" to set up a first nucleus of donors for the hospital of Umbertide, a "hospital" that had already been downgraded to "nursing" under Fascism but was very active. and working with the help of the "medical doctors"; this even after the bombing, in fact, it continued to function in the Serra Partucci headquarters. The members of the Committee were Lamberto Beatini, Raffaele Mancini, Marta Gandin and Aurelio Nocioni. Two teachers and two Headmasters. Lamberto was the only member of the Committee who was also a donor, and had the card no. 1 of the Avis of Umbertide; gift up to the age limit established by law. He was elected among the first 5 members and also President. Office for which he was re-elected until 1986, when became "Secretary". Image from the Facebook page of Avis di Umbertide Lamberto always maintained an ideality together with an extraordinary humanity, a social and democratic vision lived and breathed in the family. In his desk he kept among other things the documents of his father Giovanni, probably obtained from his grandfather Costantino, a letter from Giuseppe Mazzini and the "santino" also from Mazzini where he, as a child, had written his name over the period in which he had followed with his father to Cantiano together with his family, when his father, a former officer in the First World War, played the role of stationmaster. Grandfather Costantino, in fact, was one of the young people of republican faith who tried to oppose the monarchy in Umbertide together with Leopoldo Grilli, who was the animator of the republican circle "Thought and action", Torquato Bucci and Raffaello Scagnetti. Lamberto and Celestino Sonaglia during the delivery of a "partisan" medal in 1974 Costantino Beatini Probably the letter is not complete, the final part seems to be missing at the bottom (let's imagine a sheet made up of six squares); it is thought that by their very existence these letters were dangerous and were introduced folded into several parts and perhaps sewn inside the clothes. The letter is from 1868, after the most famous organizations such as "Giovane Italia" and "Giovane Europa" an indomitable Mazzini did not recognize the Savoyard monarchy as legitimate. He therefore continued to profess and organize associations of "republican faith" such as, in this case, "the Universal Republican Alliance" in Lugano. In the text you can read: The purpose of the Section of the All (eanza) Rep (ubblicana) Univ (ersale) in Lugano should be: to pay homage to the principle that requires the political order of men of republican faith, wherever, few or many, are: they organize multiple means of safe introduction of letters and more from the Canton of Italy: help with the monthly quota of the brothers and with the offers obtained for just once, the coffers of the Alliance: Try to make Italians, belonging to any class e in general they should follow the rules contained in the circular of October 1865 if possible. Giuseppe Mazzini. Nov. 1868 ". Antonio Beatini with the black ribbon of the republicans The letter passed to Lamberto's father, Antonio Beatini, a republican who usually wore the black bow instead of the ties of the time as it was in use among the republicans. Antonio was a supporter of the entry into war against the Austrian Empire in 1915 and wrote in " Il Popolo: organ of the Umbrian-Sabine republicans " on February 6 of that year that it was necessary to go to war against Austria " not out of mania warmonger, but for the protection of the rights and interests of our country, always tampered with and outraged by it ". The newspaper carried on Mazzini's ideals, was born as a party newspaper aimed at aggregating and informing members and supporters. He was suspended for two months in 1915 due to the call to arms of many collaborators, it was then closed in 1922 with the arrival of fascism. Antonio also left as an officer despite the 5 children. The letter it then passed to Lamberto who grew up with different ideals but with the same seriousness and ideality. We conclude with a last anecdote reported by Isotta to make people understand the sensitivity and value that every living being had for Lamberto: " the episode that Lamberto told smiling with such grace is the episode of the little mouse that he managed to teach by becoming his friend. This episode Anna (the daughter), a friend of animals, had it described in a fourth grade theme whose title was: "the father tells", here is the transcript: \ u0026lt; \ u0026lt; I was going to buy candies and as I passed on the sidewalk, with the care of the eye, on the road, I saw a dead mouse. Immediately, frightened, I returned at home. There was my father who, seeing me upset, asked me what had happened. I replied that I had seen a hideous rat squashed with a pancake on the road. It remained a silent moment then he began to tell: “you know Anna, when I was there weren't many entertainments in prison and so if we wanted to play checkers, we had to build the pieces ourselves. We put a piece of bread in our mouth and after chewing it for a long time we made balls that we put to dry outside the bars. The next day instead of the balls there were only crumbs. Immediately I thought of a mouse and then I wanted to try to get him back. I put the balls back on the windowsill for wait for them to dry. The mouse arrived and a little fearful hesitated a little then seeing that I was indifferent approached the balls and began to gnaw. I went up to him, he looked at me with fearful eyes. I stroked him gently on the head and he mounted me on the arm. A few days passed and the little mouse and I were already good friends. He got into the habit, when I was lying on the cot, of mounting on my chest and scrape on my shirt. I had to unbutton myself and he would go inside and then fall asleep. In a short time his coat had become long long and shiny, i his teeth were sharp and he was in good shape. When I got out of the prison I looked for the little mouse but I couldn't find it. I would have taken it away. I was a little sorry but then he understood that the little mouse had to go home, he too had his father and mother. " Father had made me understand that even a mouse could be tamed and become a companion of man. >>. ". Sources: - Family archive of the Beatini-Bottaccioli family - Mario Tosti: " Beautiful works. Information, documents, testimonies and images on life and death events that took place in the Municipality of Umbertide during the Second World War . Edited by Mario Tosti. Municipality of Umbertide, 25 April 1995. - Roberto Sciurpa, The Blood of the Fratta. History of the Avis section of Umbertide, Gesp editrice - http://augustaem.comune.perugia.it/scheda.aspx?ID=12&cod=PORU - http://www.storiatifernate.it/allegati_prod/01-neutralismo.pdf - photo: Archive fam. Beatini-Bottaccioli

THE COAT OF ARMS OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF UMBERTIDE Reflections by Roberto Sciurpa The coat of arms of the municipality of Umbertide dates back to 1189 when the Fratta was subjected to Perugia and changed its original coat of arms (the lily). Guerrini describes it in detail (1) and it is worth reporting its description because over the years it has undergone not marginal adaptations and some interesting details have even disappeared. “... This was composed of the figure of a bridge over running water and in a red field. The bridge has three arches and in the middle of their lights there are initial letters FOV which mean Fracta oppidum Uberti and which therefore by solemn vow of public calamity were converted into Fracta oppidum Virginis. Above the three pillars there are three towers, with the Virgin Patroness of the Castle dominating in the middle; and to the right the Grifo, which indicates the dependence on Perugia; on the left the emblem of the Apostolic Chamber which signifies the high dominion of the Pontiff. And finally an ornate crown encloses the shield all around where we can read these words: Defensores Populi et insignis Comunitatis Terrae Fractae ”. The italics are by Guerrini who wants to highlight the essential characteristics of the coat of arms. The interpretative doubt is linked to the letter "V" which is found in the light of the arch and which for some means "Uberti" and for others "Virginis" (according to Guerrini both would be right). As it is easy to guess, the two sides, at least in the past, were conditioned by logic. belonging (clerical or anti-clerical), but today that both the iconoclastic wave of the Enlightenment and the acrimonious antipapalian resentment linked to the events of the Risorgimento has faded, it is possible to express a serene and detached judgment on the matter. Indeed, a thorough reflection could lead. at least according to my point of view, to reconstruct the truth also on another interesting detail linked to local history, as I will say later. But let's proceed in order: 1. In the space of a few decades at Fratta there were two important events: the opening to worship of the Church of Santa Maria della Reggia and the Tuscan siege of the troops of the Grand Duke. The first (last years of the 16th century) marked a fundamental stage in the faith and customs of the people. The monumental temple that housed the miraculous image of the Madonna, so dear to the piety of the faithful, had finally been completed. From that moment, thanks also to the majestic visibility of her house, the Madonna became the point of reference for all the people. The old patrons (S. Andrea and S. Erasmo) still venerated and loved, slowly faded into the background because the ancient castle was increasingly entrusted to the patronage of the Virgin. In November 1643, in fact, during the siege of the Tuscan troops, the inhabitants overwhelmed by fear gathered in the church of San Giovanni inside the city walls, to implore the Madonna for salvation. It was not a question of winning or losing a battle, but of surviving or dying in the rubble and flames of a fortress that would surely have been razed to the ground, according to the military custom of the time. The people of Fratta, on that occasion, entrusted themselves to the Virgin and not to the secular patrons. A lot of water mixed with sleet fell; the Tiber swelled, discouraging any attempt to ford; the siege was lifted without firing a cannon shot; the Tuscans left and there was talk of a "miracle", giving rise to the conviction of the miracle granted by the Madonna to a castle which thus became oppidum Virginis. And the image of the Madonna inserted above the central tower of the coat of arms, now disappeared with the other surrounding details, seems to reinforce the belief that FOV meant Fracta oppidum Virginis at least from this period onwards. At each centenary anniversary, the "miracle" was commemorated with great solemnity by popular piety. This event consists of the "solemn vote for public calamity" of which Guerrini speaks and which makes Giulio Briziarelli so doubtful that he wonders what the miraculous event had been. (2) 2. I believe that Umbertide is one of the few cities, if not the only one, that has left the ancient Protectors, considered everywhere sacred and untouchable because they are linked to the faith and traditions of one people, to entrust itself to the protection of another, although of higher rank such as the Virgin. And that detail I mentioned in the introduction is also linked to this fact. This is the canvas placed in the church of San Bernardino. Certainly the official accreditation that sees reproduced the image of St. Anthony in adoration, as indicated in some photographic publications relating to the city and in tourist brochures, is incorrect. The symbolism of sacred iconography is an important key to understanding and must be kept in the utmost consideration. The character represented is a martyr because the angel shows a palm which is the symbol of martyrdom (St. Anthony is not a martyr). Furthermore, the person represented is also a bishop, as evidenced by the presence of the miter and the crosier. The abbots are comparable to the office of bishop, but in the pictorial works they are represented with their typical habit and not with the solemn vestments of the bishop's office. The presence of the angel is emblematic. It is true that in sacred iconography the figure of the angel is very widespread, but in the specific case it is said that in the life of St. Erasmus the legend speaks of the recurring role of an angel who accompanied the holy bishop to Syria, then to Dalmatia. , finally to Formia and to martyrdom. If the legend is combined with the reproduced subjects, the Immaculate Conception and the castle of Fratta, it can reasonably be assumed that that saint character had something to do with the small village and that he was even the protector who entrusted his protégés to the superior protection. of the Virgin. The canvas, therefore, could represent the "miracle" of 1643 and "The consignment" of the city to the Madonna by Sant'Erasmo. Popular tradition (3) has always indicated in the painting the memory of the prodigy. hypothesis was founded, the canvas should date back to around 1644 and it could be observed that the dome of the church of Santa Maria della Reggia was no longer there at the time. It is true, but it is a secondary detail, in my opinion, because the completion works of the dome, begun around 1621, were not yet completed. Perhaps the temple was covered by wooden scaffolding and the upper part of the church was incomplete, aesthetically uninteresting and indefinite so it was preferred to reproduce it with its characteristics originals. 3. During 1862, the Mayor of the time had appointed a commission to study the change of the name of the city. A measure to this effect was suggested by a dispatch from the government commissioner at the request of the Ministry of the Interior to avoid confusion caused by the numerous toponyms bearing the name of Fratta. "The commission was composed of the municipal secretary Dr. Ruggero Burelli, the chief engineer of the Municipality of Genesio Perugini, who was completing the history of Fratta left incomplete by the canonical uncle Antonio Guerrini who died in 1845, and by the lawyer Costantino Magi Spinetti. The report presented to the Mayor closed by suggesting a range of four possible names and advocated that of Umberta or Umbertide because it is more closely linked to the memory of its alleged founders descendants of Uberto Ranieri. "Fracta filiorum Uberti is always called even in the ancient Perugian statutes", mentioned a passage in the report. It is worth noting that it does not state that Uberto or Umberto is also the name indicated by the letter "V" contained in the coat of arms (FOV) in order to reinforce the indication suggested in favor of the choice of Umberta or Umbertide by the City Council. It would seem evident that in the conviction of the three commissioners that "V" did not refer to any of the Ranieri, but meant something of different. 4. In Lauri's Latin, the ancient and correct expression of the Perugian statutes “Fracta filiorum Uberti” becomes “Fracta insigne Ubertinorum oppidum”, with a very strange philological contamination. In this regard, it is useful to recall the sharp judgment that Luigi Bonazzi gives of the cited author: “With Bonciario we generally returned to Latin vomit. The fellow disciple, Baldassarre Ansidei, prefect of the Vatican library, and the scholar Giambattista Lauri, both placed between one century and the next, continued to latin with fury, especially Lauri, on the same themes as the fellow citizen rhetorician, one until 1614 , the other up to 1629 ... " (4) . Uberto Ranieri's descendants are called by Lauri "Umbertini" as if the sons of Pietro, Giovanni or Giacomo could be called "Pietrini, Giovannini or Giacobini". Such a license is completely foreign to the Latin language, as indeed to the Italian one, which at most could have tolerated Ranierorum and never Ubertinorum. But the Latins and the Latinists have always prefixed gens to noble names, therefore gens Claudia, gens Cornelia, gens Fabia, and, if anything. "gens Raniera" would have been the correct expression. Bonazzi's judgment on Lauri's "Latin with furore" seems completely founded. It seems very strange, therefore, that the letter "V" stands for "Uberti" because this does not correspond to the historical truth as the founders were his sons (Ugo, Ingilberto and Benedetto) and even more strange that it stands for “Ubertinorum” due to philological incompatibility. I agree with what Guerrini affirms, towards whom I have respect and admiration for the seriousness and scruple, unrelated to some of his critics, with whom he has treated the history of the Land of Fratta. Personally, however, on the basis of the considerations set out in n. 4, I have serious doubts that 'Y' could mean "Uberti", even before 1643. That letter could, in fact, refer to Ugolino who ceded the Fratta to Perugia on February 12, 1189 or to the much better known Ugo, king of Italy, from which the Ranieri descended. It seems strange that history is entrusted with the name of Uberto who had the sole merit of having given birth to the person who rebuilt the castle destroyed by the Goths. One of Uberto's sons, an important element not to be underestimated , was called just Ugo as the most famous ancestor (the grandfather). Note: (1) See History of the Land of Fratta now Umbertide, Tipografia Tiberina, 1883, page 174. (2) See Umbertide and Umbertidesi in history, Unione Arti Grafiche, Città di Castello, 1959, page 247. (3) Testimony of the Bishop of Gubbio, Monsignor Pietro Bottaccioli. (4) Luigi Bonazzi, History of Perugia, Vol. 11, p. 251, Union of Graphic Arts, Città di Castello. 1960. Sources: “A FREE MAN - Roberto Sciurpa, a passionate civil commitment” - by Federico Sciurpa - Petruzzi publisher, Città di Castello, June 2012 Roberto Sciurpa tells the story of Umbertide to school pupils The Municipality of Umbertide Enlargement of the coat of arms of Umbertide located to the right of the access door Unknown author. The Madonna and Sant'Erasmo. Roberto Sciurpa and Petruzz i, in 2007, during the press of the last volume of the history of Umbertide. The cover of the book that his son Federico dedicated to his father Roberto The royal decree of 29.3.1863 authorizing the name change The poster communicating the name change from Fratta to Umbertide

THE HISTORY OF THE RIUNITI THEATER curated by Fabio Mariotti From the book "Project Recovery and Restoration of the Teatro dei Riuniti di Umbertide" The history of the Teatro dei Riuniti di Umbertide is linked not only to the theater as a building, but also to a literary and theatrical academy that existed in the city since the 16th century. For this reason we will report here parallel news regarding both topics. It must be said immediately that all the documentation produced by the Academy, to which certain "Books of academic acts" certainly belonged, has been lost; most of the news we have comes from the Municipal Archives of Umbertide, from an unpublished typescript by Renato Codovini on the history of Umbertide and from the memories of some citizens. Among the papers in the Municipal Archive there is a manuscript by a certain Filippo Natali (born in Umbertide in 1837, he was municipal secretary in Gualdo Todino where he died in 1922 (1), entitled: "News on the theater of Fratta (Umbertide) and on 'annexed academy of the Riuniti' and dated November 1883 which passes on valuable information to us. From it we know of an "investigation dated 7 March 1615 by deed of the Frattense notary Benedetto Santi" concerning our Academy (2). This is the oldest document we have (apart from an act of constitution, but not the first, of the Academy, dated 1614). The deed was drawn up in the presence of eight members of the "Congregation of the Unstable" (3) and of three people who asked to be part of it, to whom permission was granted "having done on their persons and virtues the colloquio et addunanza according to the style of the said Congregation ". At this date the Academy of the Inestables - as it was called until 1746 - already had its own statute and the prospect of "augmenting the said Congregation, so that with the people who are in it, and will enter it for the future, can make progress in virtuous acts as is appropriate ... ". At that time the Academies represented a very free place of exchange, and also rare in a culturally impoverished society. Unofficial poetic productions flourished in them such as satire, dithyrambic and didactic poetry and more generally the Theater; but they were also deputed to the education of the nobility who exercised their qualities here to govern. They had a strong local character which was rarely surpassed and in the long run the quantity of their products came at the expense of quality. Gradually the stage actions became the main purpose of the academic meetings so that the need arose to have a place to gather suitable for performances. We then moved from simple rooms to small theaters that were first used only by the members of the Academy, thus reflecting all their needs, then they became public places and the Academies themselves in most cases were the "managers". In Umbertide we know that, before the current theater rebuilt in 1808 in the place where it was the ancient one, the seat of the Academy was a room located on the first floor of a building owned by the Municipality, which was accessed by an external stone staircase. In the same building there were the Commissioner's house - of which the room itself was part -, the Archive on the ground floor, the public chancellery and the prison. Unfortunately we have no news on the activity of the Academy until 1746, but we can assume that it had been decreasing to resume only shortly before this date. In fact, again from Natali, which reports a note found at the beginning of the "First Book of Academic Acts", we learn "how they wanted to rebuild the association in 1746, asking not only the use but also the ownership of the theater from the Municipality , ... ". It was also decided to draw up the statute of the Academy (4) "establishing that the Academy should aim at honest and useful entertainment through acting, which consisted of a determined number of people chosen from the civil class who had to pay an annual fee "; arrangements were made for an "Academic Prince", a Depositary and a Secretary in charge of drafting the academic documents to be elected annually. Also on this date, the name of the Academy was finally changed from “Inestabili” to “Riuniti”, probably precisely to establish the desire for change. At that time the members of the Academy were eleven and among them were the most prominent characters of the town: Prospero and Annibale Mariotti (according to Lupattelli the latter was born in Umbertide and not in Perugia, Giulio Cesare Fracassini, the famous castrato Domenico Bruni who sang in the major theaters of Europe (5), Francesco Guardabassi, and some members of the most important families of Umbertide: Ranieri and Bourbon di Sorbello. The new academics Riuniti chose as their emblem the representation of a hand holding three gold cords tied together , and alongside the motto "Difficile solvitur." Regarding the theatrical activity, the Prince was required to stage one or more comedies during the carnival period with interludes of music and sometimes even dance, while in the other seasons the amateur dramatists of the 'Accademia performed in minor representations. From this period we have received the text of two "three-voice interludes": "The slave for love" and "Don Falc one ”,“ to be recited in the Fratta theater ”and published in 1772 (Figs. 1-2); most likely they were sung by the then fourteen year old Domenico Bruni. Finally, there is a sonnet by A. Mariotti from 1788, again for the theater of Fratta (6) (Fig. 3). A curious news also refers to this period we report from Natali: “By way of curiosity and to show how much religious spirit crept into the bosom of the young people who then did delighted in acting, we will notice how in 1754, on 1 February the Theater Academy, on the demand of amateur dramatics, grants them a free performance, in order to use the proceeds for to support the souls in Purgatory! Those were the times! How much unlike our incredulous young men! But to put a little of water on this boiling fervor, let the bigots know that the Academy in granting the permit, expressing itself as follows: “As long as do not pass in example such a protension! ". In 1748, for the first time, with a certain embarrassment of academics, once tour company of such "Giovanni Gazzola, histrion" asked to to be able to use the Teatro dei Riuniti. On the occasion they brought in scene the characters of Pulcinella, Balanzone and Brighella. From a list of performances held in the theater from 1759 to 1795 and reported by Natali (7), we mention two famous works: the drama of Metastasio "La clemenza di Tito" given in 1759 (the first takes place in 1741) and Voltaire's "Mohammed" given in 1787 (the first dates back to 1742). It was only in 1783 that the Municipality, having heard the opinion of the Sacra Consulta, granted "for perpetual use of the Accademia de 'Riuniti .... the house where its theater is, ... which house consists of a room which is the theater, and its stalls, and two adjoining rooms to said hall. "(8). From 1791 to 1798 Pius VI for security reasons forbade all events in which people could gather and therefore closed all the theaters of the Papal State. This of course was also the fate of Umbertide's theater. Moreover, as soon as it reopened, it was semi-destroyed on the occasion of a clash between the Pope's troops and a group of rioters from Arezzo who came to support the insurgents of the Tiberina valley, so that it remained closed for another four years, until 1802, when it suffered a first restoration. But at that time a much more important project for the construction of a real theater was already beginning to take shape. It should also be said that years followed in which the town planning of Fratta underwent many changes and innovations including the arrangement of the square, the clock tower, the bridge over the Royal Palace, etc. Also in 1802 the Academy decided to occupy the three rooms on the ground floor under the theater, and bought the timber for the rebuilding of the roof of the building. In 1805 it was decided to entrust Giovanni Cerrini (9) with the project for the construction of the new theater: this included three orders of 13 boxes each, the stalls, a large stage with adjoining dressing rooms and two rooms for the Academy (10 ). However, in order to reach the number of boxes and the measures established by Cerrini (11), it was necessary that the Municipality also granted a "scio" (passage) that ran between the walls and the building (12) in exchange for which the 'Accademia undertook to maintain the walls. To get an idea of the greatness of Fratta at that time, just think that in 1826 it had two parishes and 1300 inhabitants, while 8630 were the inhabitants of the whole territory of Umbertide in 1812 (unfortunately we only have these data, which in any case are indicative ). Between 1810 and 1812 the pictorial decorations were made by the Perugian Giovanni Monotti (13) and by Faina, the same that we see today brought to light and restored by the Guerri e Polidori firm. These are two bands of decoration along the second and third tier of boxes in which the heads of famous dramatic actors are depicted framed by laurel wreaths and interspersed with swans. The ceiling of the stalls was decorated with a painting, also by Faina, representing Talia, muse of comedy (14); today it no longer exists as the ceiling was first repainted and then completely redone. In 1810, Faina also painted the curtain with the story of “Alcide at the crossroads” which, according to those who remember him, was very beautiful. Unfortunately it has been lost in recent years. A letter preserved in the Municipal Archives (15) and written between 1822 and 1823 by the "heads of the families of artists" of Umbertide was addressed to the Apostolic Delegate of Perugia to intercede with the Academicians and the Municipality to finish the decoration of the theater and especially the scenarios, so as to finally make the theater accessible. From the tone of this letter it would seem that the Academicians delayed the completion of the works to not allow ordinary people to enter, however other documents testify that already since 1811 there were performances in the theater. According to Natali, who in this case entrusts himself to the memory of the elderly, the new theater was inaugurated in 1813 or 1814 with Mozart's Don Giovanni; if this were true - and it seems difficult to us - it must have been a truly exceptional performance, given that the same work was given for the first time in Italy in 1811 in Bergamo and Rome, then in 1812 in Naples and in 1814 in Milan (16) . But even before the inauguration the new theater had hosted the Mosso company which from mid-November 1811 to mid-January 1812 had represented 17 works in prose, including Voltaire and Goldoni (17). The staging of two works by a local historian and professor of rhetoric dates back to 1815: Don Antonio Guerrini (18): “The salt columns” and “ll Pizzarro”. In the same year Domenico Bruni held concerts in the churches of Umbertide. In 1823 the company directed by Luigi Salsilli arrived and staged 34 performances. In 1825 the impresario Gasparo Zannini applied to represent a show with ten dancers in the theater, and asked the Gonfaloniere for a hefty sum as compensation; but the latter, unable to grant it to him, offered him the income from the third-rate boxes and the coffee box office. The following year, however, the Gonfaloniere did not grant the theater to Filippo Troiani's "Compagnia d'opera in musica", composed of a prima donna and two buffi, citing the lack of interest of his fellow citizens for that kind of entertainment as a reason. In this century, in addition to evenings of prose and music, the theater was used for performances by comedians, acrobats and mimes, raffles were organized and dances were given. In 1857, after 45 years, they wanted to renew the pictorial decoration of the theater; the work was entrusted to a painter from Assisi, Augusto Malatesta. To evaluate the realization, we hear the opinion of Natali: "the theater as it was painted by Monotti and Faina, if it could not be said to be splendid, and well decorated, was moreover better than what we see today, reduced to such a poor state in 1857 , certainly self-styled painter Augusto Malatesta of Assisi who made up for the lack of talent with the recommendations of the friars and with the protection of the president of the time, and while I covered the vault of the stalls with a layer of lime, which also in the center contained a painting of some value, on which Talia, muse of comedy was painted, replaced some tracery worthy of appearing in a bedroom and four figures of an impossible anatomy, and of such daring and bizarre movements, as to make us wonder how they can also be painted up there 'plaster. It is true that the heavy swans, the grave crowns and the most grave medallions that framed the busts of great dramatic actors were removed from the bands of the boxes; but what was substituted for that painting I will not say beautiful but less baroque? A coat of white lead was given, which was called marble for derision, small wooden frames were stuck around the windowsills, badly, and a frieze was painted with a faded blue that clashes with the paintings (we will call them so) of the vault and with the heavy plinth featuring a marble, or rather colored cobblestone, neither described nor known by any geologist while above the pillars that separate the boxes he applied three leaves that look like as many butterflies of an unknown fauna. " In the photo of 1916 shown here (fig. 7) the decorations of Malatesta targeted by Natali are probably reproduced, while those we see today are the oldest ones by Monotti and Faina. In the nineteenth century he was director of the theater for 30 years, the distinguished Perugian historian Luigi Bonazzi, who was also an appreciated dramatic actor. If until 1867 the offer of music was small, between 1868 and 1881 several musical works were represented: in 1871 "La Traviata" by Giuseppe Verdi (18 years after the first Venetian), brought by one of the most famous entrepreneurs of the moment, Vincenzo Paoli of Florence, who undertook 12 performances, from 10 November to 10 December, with part of his orchestra and the entire company. In 1881 "La Sonnambula" by Vincenzo Bellini was on the bill. However, to stage these works, the theater always ended up going at a loss. For this reason, in 1886 there was a long discussion before deciding to raise the annual quota of the Academicians to 200 lire. A curious news is transmitted to us by the resolutions of the council of 1869. In fact, it was decided to illuminate the theater "with stearic wax" only for the evening of 6 June, "on the occasion of the statute party", the date on which great celebrations were organized in Thicket; on the other hand, the theater was generally gas-lit. From 1887 to 1890 the theater was closed to carry out works deemed necessary following the provisions on safety in theaters. In 1897 a new regulation came out and the commission in charge of inspecting Umbertide's theater established that it could hold a maximum of 450 people: 200 in the stalls, 200 in the boxes, 50 on the stage. He ordered the opening of two more doors to the outside and a fire extinguishing system with water outlets. The non-compliance of the theater with the new regulations, however, did not prevent the continuation of the activity until 1906, when it was again closed due to an injunction by the Public Security office. In 1910, 271 citizens signed a petition to urge the reopening of the theater, but we know that only in 1913 the restorations were completed. In the same year, a new statute of the Accademia dei Riuniti was drawn up in which it is reiterated that: "The headquarters of the Academy is in the same theater of the Riuniti, which it owns" (article 2), and that "The Society is made up of all the co-owners of the boxes ... "(article 5). In the years of Fascism, the theater was also called "only after-work cinema" because films were shown there, as well as the representation of operettas and plays by school pupils. But what most people remember are the parties and dances that took place there. This was how we arranged: we had the buffet come from a bar (in the theater there was not one until the sixties); for the lighting each carried one or two acetylene lamps which rested on the sills of the boxes; the audience was freed from the chairs and, to warm up, a demijohn was placed on the stage with a tap that allowed them to draw wine from the orchestra pit where at that point nothing was missing ... It was at this time that the internal structure of the theater was modified. In the years preceding the 1940s, this cinema destination was somehow made official in the new name of the Society and the Theater: “Teacine”. In the sixties, the Teacine, practically little more than accessible, was taken over by a company that restructured it as best as possible, enlarging the stage and reopening it to the public. Due to these changes, the acoustics of the hall worsened and the curtain of the Faina was lost. Despite the deterioration of the wall structure, however, the Accademia dei Riuniti has resumed its activity for 25 years and today is made up of a company of thirty amateurs, aged 15 to 60, which brings its varied repertoire to national reviews and participates in exchanges with other European nations. Not only that, but Umbertide has also become the site of an amateur theater festival, “Teatro in Umbria”, which after five years of life is now of international level. All this, at the conclusion of these pages of history, confirms the existence of a tradition and an interest in the theater that is alive and felt in the city which justify the restoration of the building and hope for an appropriate use of it. PHOTO GALLERY Note: 1) Filippo Natali, from Umberto I, attended the faculty of law in Perugia and enlisted in the retinue of Garibaldi. He wrote: an unpublished story of Umbertide, “Excursion around Lake Trasimeno”, “History of the Free State of Cospaia” and various things about Gualdo T. (dc: G. Briziarelli, 1959). The manuscript on the theater is found in the Municipal Archives of Umbertide, b.383, Various objects. 2) Umbertide Municipal Archive, Notarial Fund, protocol 482. 3) This kind of appellations were given to the Academies to underline their particular character ... 4) This statute underwent some changes in 1769 and again, under the influence of the new ideas propagated by the French Revolution, in 1808. 5) Domenico Bruni, 1758-1821. He was in Petersburg for three years at the court of Empress Catherine, then in Saxony, Poland, England and France. In 1797 he returned to Umbertide to take care of music schools. In his city he held public offices: Moire and Gonfaloniere. (from Don A. Guerrini, 1883). 6) These texts are kept at the Augusta Municipal Library in Perugia. 7) In 1759 "La clemenza di Tito"; in 1754 "The old disappointed" and "Demetrio"; in 1765 "Pulcinella power"; in 1768 "La letterata"; in 1769 "Sirce"; in 1770 "The punished miser"; in 1774 "Pulcinella fake gambler"; in 1776 "Pulcinella with the three wives" and "La finta malata"; in 1778 "The wife, despair of the husband and the guardian"; in 1783 "The Madonna ..."; in 1787 "La grotta delle mummie" and "Il Moometto" by Voltaire; in 1795 "The corsair in Marseille" and "The guilty woman". Almost all of these theatrical compositions were staged with interludes of music for four or more voices and often with dance. (see Natali manuscript). 8) Umbertide Municipal Archive, notary Vittorio Paolucci, prot. 862. 9) We know of Giovanni Cerrini that in Umbertide he also made the bridge over the Palace (designed in 1804 and finished in 1814), a project for a bell tower above the tower of the fortress and various other works. 10) Umbertide Municipal Archive, notary Tommaso Paolucci, prot. 923/4. 11) Cerrini had "compared them with the width of the boxes of the theater recently built in the land of Panicale". 12) In this regard, it should be remembered that the two buffered arches, but left in view by the current restoration, located under the stage on two walls that form a 90 degree angle, created a passage in the corner of the building that allowed the continuation of the " scito ”mentioned above (even the building adjacent to the theater, originally, did not reach up to the wall). 13) Giovanni Cerrini and Giovanni Monotti attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia together and in 1791, as a drawing exam in the class of Prof. Baldassarre Orsini, they presented a project for a choir chapel in the Cathedral of Perugia with which they obtained the first prize. 14) The muse Talia is generally represented with a cartouche, a viola or other instrument and from the seventeenth century. even with a mask. 15) Umbertide Municipal Archive, b.28. 16) The following performances were: in Turin in 1815, in Florence and Bologna in 1817, in Parma in 1821, etc. 17) Here is the list of those works reported in Codovini's manuscript: November 14, 1811: The knight of honor, by Mr. Avelloni. 16 said: La Semiramide, by Mr. Voltaire, translated by Mr. Cesarotti. 17 said: The madman for love, unpublished. 17 said: Carlotta and Werter, by Mr. Sagrasti. 19 said: The Diogenes, by Mr. Chiari. 20 said: The Geneva of Scotland, tragedy of Mr. Miller, 21 said: Clementina and Dalmanzi, of Mr. Avelloni. 23 said: Justice reaches underground, an unprecedented drama. 24 said; The mirror of obstinacy, unprecedented. 25 said: The jealousies of Agapito and Silvestro, of Mr. Giraud. 26 said: The fraternal reconciliation, by Mr. Zozebue. 27 said: The Persian bride, by Mr. Goldoni. 28 said: repetition of "fraternal reconciliation". 30 said: Replica of Voltaire's “Semiramide”. December 1st: La Zaira, by Mr. Voltaire. 3 said: S. Francesco al campo di Corrodine, unpublished. 4 said: (illegible), by Mr. D'Armand. 8 said: The banquet of Baldassarre, by Mr. Dirghieri. 10 said: The conversion of St. Margaret of Cortona, unpublished. 11 said: replica of the aforementioned. 18) Don A. Guerrini (1780-1845) was a distinguished scholar, professor of rhetoric in Umbertide, he wrote "History of the land of Fratta" published, unfinished, after his death, in 1883. (See the biography that makes it Antonio Mezzanotte as an introduction to the aforementioned book). From the book "Project Recovery and Restoration of the Teatro dei Riuniti di Umbertide" - Publishing theme, 1990 - The history of the Teatro dei Riuniti, edited by Flavia di Serego Alighieri BIBLIOGRAPHY - Don A. Guerrini, History of the land of Fratta from its origin to the year 1845, Città di Castello, tip. Tiberina, 1883. - G. Brizziarelli, Umbertide and umbertidesi in history, Città di Castello, 1959. R. Sabatini, Umbrian theaters, Perugia, 1981. - B. Porrozzi, Umbertide and its territory, Città di Castello, sd. Theaters, entertainment venues and academies in Montepulciano and Valdichiana, Exhibition catalog, Montepulciano, 1984. SOURCES - Municipal Archive of Umbertide - Renato Codovini, History of Umbertide - sec. XIX, unpublished typescript. LA DOCUMENTAZIONE RELATIVA ALL’ACQUISTO DEI LOCALI DEL TEATRO DA PARTE DELL’ACCADEMIA DEI SIGNORI RIUNITI Si tratta di documenti che abbracciano il periodo che va dal 1783 al 1788 e sono interessanti, oltre che per l’oggetto in discussione, anche per conoscere la lingua italiana che si usava allora per le trascrizioni notarili. Si può pure notare che, a livello ecclesiastico, veniva usato ancora il latino. Riunione del 24 gennaio 1783 In nomine Dei amen. Anno Domini millesimo septingentesimo octuagesimo tertio [1783] die vero vigesimo quarto januarii [24 gennaio]... Personalmente costituiti avanti di me notaio i testimoni infrascritti gli Ill.mi signori Domenico Gioacchino del fu signor Mariano Savelli al presente Governatore di Otricoli per la Sagra Consulta, il sig. dott. Bonaventura del fu dott. Giambattista Spinetti, il signor dott. Giuseppe del fu signor Giantommaso capitano Paolucci, il dott. Giuseppe figlio del signor dott. Benedetto Bertanzi, il tenente Filippo del fu sig. Ruggero Burelli, il sig. Giambattista del fu sig. dott. Fabrizio Mazzaforti per il signor Paolo suo fratello, il signor Giambattista del fu signor Ludovico Criacci, e i signori Domenico del quondam [fu] signor Sante Cerboncelli e il signor Stefano del quondam signor Carlo Vibi per il signor dott. Lorenzo suo fratello, individui dell'Accademia dei Riuniti di questa Terra della Fratta da me tutti cogniti, i quali a fine di avere da questa Comunità l'uso perpetuo della sala ove sta il teatro e le stanze annesse per esercitare la gioventù in decorose rappresentazioni ed onesti divertimenti e così mantenere sempre più l'unione di tutto il paese specialmente ed in ogni modo migliore, tutti li suddetti signori ed il suddetto Giuseppe Bertanzi colla rinunzia al beneficio della patria potestà e alla L. I.2... Tit... Cod... quod cum eo, ed a tute le altre leggi, statuti e privilegi a favore dei figli di famiglia disponenti mediante il suo giuramento toccate le scritture delle quali specialmente ed in ogni [è una formula di giuramento], promettono, convengono si obbligano di pagare e sborsare la somma e quantità di uno scudo per cadauno all'anno per lo spazio di anni sei da oggi prossimi, e come siegue fenire entro il mese di gennaio incominciando dal mese presente perfinché saranno compiti li predetti anni sei ed in caso di ritardato pagamento, a contumacia li medesimi signori Accademici acconsentono di essere convenuti giuridicamente dal corpo delli Accademici colla spedizione del mandato esecutivo con la semplice intimazione avanti qualunque giudice, con questo patto però, che detto annuo pagamento non debba convertirsi in altr'uso, se non che nel formare un capitale fruttifero stabile e siguro, il di cui annuo fruttato debba impiegarsi in mantenimento e rifacimento della casa ov'è il teatro, stanze, e ditta, scale ed altro che occorrerà e ciò in vigore degli ordini della Sagra Congregazione del Buon Governo, ad effetto di ottenere la cessione, che si farà dalla Comunità a questa nostra Accademia dell'uso perpetuo di detta fabbrica per l'effetto suddetto. E promettono li detti signori Accademici di fare un tal annuo pagamento per questo primo anno in mani del signor Stefano Vibi esattore eletto dalla Congregazione oggi venuta di detta Accademia, dal quale dovrà poi consegnarsi la somma esatta in mano del signor Domenico Cerboncelli Depositario della suddetta Accademia ad effetto di farne il rinvestimento annuo accenato, e negli anni susseguenti in mano dell'altro esattore che verrà eletto, e così di anno in anno col peso sempre di farli pervenire in mano di detto signor Cerboncelli, il quale radunato che avrà una somma sufficiente dovrà avere il peso di rinvestirla coll'intelligenza sempre però della suddetta Accademia in uno o più investimenti siguri secondo le somme che esigerà di mano in mano, a secondo le occasioni che si presenteranno sigure e fruttifere, ed il fruttato di questi rinvestimenti debba esigersi ogn'anno dal detto signor Cerboncelli Depositario, detto sopra eletto, senza che gli altri signori Accademici o Principe pro tempore abbia avere il pensiero di fare simili riscossioni e questi frutti debbono impiegarsi in risarcimento delle case come sopra da cedersi all'Accademia, né convertirsi in altr'uso senza licenza della medesima, ed in caso in qualch'anno non abbisognassero tali risarcimenti per il mantenimento della casa suddetta, si debbano riservare per altre occasioni di detti risarcimenti. E promettono li suddetti signori Accademici, come sopra presenti, il presente obbligo sempre attendere ed osservare colle suddette condizioni, mai contro di esse fare, dire o venire, anzi farvi acconsentire ogni o qualunque persona e che a loro è lecito di farla volendo essere sempre tenuti alla perpetua oservanza [sic] del medesimo colle suddette condizioni non solo in questo ma anche in ogni modo migliore. [Notaio Vittorio Paolucci. Archivio Notarile Umbertide. Registro n. 866]. Contratto di cessione della sala del teatro In Dei nomine amen. Anno Domini millesimo septingentesimo octuagesimo terbio [1783] - In prima die vero prima mensis februarii [1 febbraio]... Personalmente costituiti avanti di me notaro e testimoni infrascritti l'Eccellentissimo Signor Dottore Giuseppe figlio della beata memoria del Signor Capitano Giantommaso Paolucci e li Signori Vittorio del quondam [fu] Bernardino Ceccarelli, Filippo del quondam Giambattista Legnetti anche in nome di Pietro del quondam Benedetto Crosti tutti di questa Terra della Fratta a me cogniti pubblici rappresentanti della Comunità di questa Terra li quali facendo l'atto infrascritto in virtù della risoluzione del pubblico generale Consiglio celebrato sotto il dì 9 maggio 1780, copia di cui a me diedero per inscriverla col presente istromento, del tenore alla quale, ed in vigore delle facoltà riportate a seconda del medesimo Consiglio della Sagra Congregazione del Buon Governo e della Sagra Consulta, che si giustifica colle lettere di Monsignore Illustrissimo e Reverendissimo Governatore di Perugia in data del 27 giugno e 29 aprile dell'anno 1780, che parimente a me diedero per allegarle nel presente strumento, del tenore che in vece e nome di detta Comunità danno, cedono e concedono per uso perpetuo dell'Accademia de' Riuniti di detta Terra alli signori Accademici di essa e per la medesima all'eccellentissimo signor dottore Gioacchino Maria della beata memoria del signor Mariano Savelli governatore al presente della Terra d'Otricoli parimente a me cognito deputato da essa a questo atto nell'adunanza tenuta il dì 24 gennaro scorso copia della quale parimente a me diedero ad effetto d'inserirla nel presente istromento per detta Accademia e Signori Riuniti assieme con me notaio stipulante ed accettante in favore l'uso perpetuo della casa ov'è il pubblico teatro, alla quale si sale con scala di pietra al di fuori, posta in questa Terra della Fratta nella Piazza del Grano di questa Comunità, ove è la Rocca, conforme davanti la detta Piazza, da un lato la casa del signor Pensa e Padri Minori Conventuali di San Francesco di questa medesima Terra, e dagli altri lati le mura castellane, e di sotto la pubblica Cancelleria, l'Archivio e Carceri, qual casa consiste in una sala, ove è il teatro e la platea del medesimo e due camere contigue a detta sala con tutti i suoi scioiti, annessi, connessi, membri, adiacenze, pertinenze, ponendolo, costituendolo, dandogli... E questa cessione fanno detù Signori pubblici rappresentanti perché asseriscono e confessano aver fatto acquisto della casa degli eredi Petrogalli di detta Terra per il preciso fine ed effetto dell'abitazione del signor Commissario pro tempore per cui servirà la casa ceduta a uso de' Cancellieri, Sbirri e Balivo come appare per rogito del signor dottore Filippo Maria Savelli notaio di questa Terra il dì 8 gennaio 1780, al quale [si rinvia], con li seguenti patti, capitoli e condizioni, cioè: 1. che li Signori Accademici pro tempore siano tenuti mantenere detta casa di tutti li necessari risarcimenti, senza che la Comunità suddetta abbia avervi alcun pensiero, conforme detto signor deputato in vece e nome di essa Accademia promette di fare a tenore del detto gentile Consiglio, ed approva [il suddetto], per il quale oggetto di mantenimento obbliga ed ipoteca il rinvestimento che hanno promesso di fare li detti Signori Accademici per rogito mio il dì 24 gennaio di detto anno, volendo e dichiarando che il fondo o rinvestimento da farsi come sopra di scudi sessanta dalli detti Signori Accademici delli loro proprii denari resti perpetuamente obbligato per detto mantenimento di casa, quale dovrà farsi colli frutti che decorreranno del detto rinvestimento, senza che il capitale e frutti di esso possano convertirsi in altr'uso, e non altrimenti. 2. che in caso si dissolvesse quest'adunanza di Riuniti, la Comunità suddetta possa e debba rientrare al possesso ed uso della casa come sopra descritto con tutti i suoi risarcimenti, bonificazioni e che il rinvestimento da farsi per fondo di detto mantenimento resti vincolato ed ogni casa delli suddetti Signori Accademici possa ritirare quella somma che avrà sborsata per sommare il suddetto capitale colli suoi frutti, in caso non fossero stati impiegati. E siccome la Comunità cede all'Accademia il solo dominio utile di detta casa, benché perpetuo, conviene per patto espresso, quale detto signor deputato intende, vuole e dichiara che si abbia per espresso nel principio, mezzo e fine del presente istromento, altrimenti non sarebbe venuto al presente contratto: che dandosi qualche caso fortuito d'incendio, terremoto o altro sinistro accadente (che Iddio non voglia) 1'Accademia suddetta non sia tenuta ad alcun risarcimento, sul riflesso che la Comunità si riserva il dominio diretto e non altrimenti, perché così. 3. che sia leccito [sic] alli Signori Accademici pro tempore di ampliare la platea, fare aggiunta, mutare ingresso, fare li cassini e tutto altro che stimeranno opportuno per l'esercizio delle loro accademie e recite di commedie e come a loro più piacerà e parerà per maggiore ornamento, comodo e decoro del luogo pubblico. E finalmente che la chiave di detta casa debba tenersi dal Principe o Presidente pro tempore di detta Accademia. Dichiarando detti signori pubblici rappresentanti debba restare in perpetuo l'uso della casa Petrogalli, come sopra comprata per il signor Commissario, Cancellieri e Sbirri e Balivo e la casa e di lei uso, ove è il detto teatro, debba ancor questa restare in perpetuo per l'Accademia suddetta dei Riuniti, senza che mai possa ritogliersi, promettendo di sempre e perpetuamente mantenerla nel libero, quieto e pacifico posesso [sic] ed uso di essa, né a ciò mai contro dire o venire per qualunque capo, causa o motivo, volendo esser sempre tenuti in nome della loro Comunità ch'a perpetua osservanza del presente contratto non solo in questo, ma anche in ogni altro modo migliore. [Notaio Vittorio Paolucci. Archivio Notarile Umbertide. Registro n. 866.] Lettera di Giampietro Pensa Giampietro Pensa da Città di Castello [omissis] l'espone avere una casa nella Terra della Fratta per la metà ed indivisa con questi Reverendi Padri Conventuali di San Francesco posta nella Piazza frumentaria, presso davanti la detta piazza, di dietro li sciolti delle muraglie castellane, da uno il palazzo del pubblico, casa ereditaria del Fracassini, ora de' Signori conti Ranieri di Perugia rifermata in ultimo luogo al detto oratore in terza generazione il dì 8 novembre 1741 per rogito del fu Maurizio Savelli notaro di detta Terra e descritta al libro livellare di detta sua mensa a carta 59; e siccome desidero vendere la metà della medesima casa per indivisa, come sopra, stimata dai periti communi in somma di scudi 15, supplica pertanto l'oratore Vostra Illustrissima [...] per la licenza di poter vendere detta casa per il suddetto prezzo ..... Nulla osta rilasciato dalla Diocesi Nulla osta del Vescovo di Gubbio relativo alla compra-vendita della casa del Pansa adiacente al teatro. Attentis narratis servato dominis favore nostrae mensae episcopalis et sine prejudicio habentium meliora et potiora jura quater oratori petitam licentiam vendendi medietatem domus, de qua in precibus, concedimus atque impartimus ita tamen ut emptor intra debitum tempus precies nobis porrigat ad effectum conseguendi debitam investituram, et non intelligatur illatum illum praejudicium [...] exigendi canones decursos et non solutos. Incipiendi datum Eugubii ex Cancelleria Episcopale hac die prima mensis septembris 1785. Episcupus Eugubino Franciscus Lusieri LVD. Cancelliere Episcopale. Stima della casa dei frati Noi Maestri muratori [Bruni e Porrini] di questa Terra della Fratta, essendo stati richiesti, Mastro Pietro Bruni ad istanza dell'illustrissimo signor Domenico Cerboncelli come Depositario degli Accademici del teatro di questa Terra della Fratta, e Mastro Francesco Porrini ad istanza dei Padri Minori Conventuali di questa medesima Terra per vedere, considerare, stimare e riferire il giusto prezzo e valore di una casa che in comune si gode da terra fino al tetto dalli suddetti Padri Conventuali e dalla suddetta Accademia del teatro posta in questa Terra nella Piazza della Rocca che confina da Levante le mura castellane mediante lo steccato, O [occidente] la Piazza della Rocca et eredi Fracassini, S [sud] il teatro salvi etc. composta di tre piani e stalla a pianterreno, il prezzo della qual casa, libera da ogni defalco, la giudichiamo secondo la nostra perizia e coscienza avendo minutamente considerato ascendere a scudi sessanta moneta romana di paoli dieci per scudo e per essere tutto ciò alla verità conforme sarà il presente foglio sottoscritto e rispettivamente segnato col segno della Santa Croce da noi infrascritti. In fede questo dì 26 febbraio 1787 nella Terra della Fratta. [Notaio Giovan Battista Burelli. Archivio Notarile Umbertide. Registro 885 c. 30]. Richiesta dei frati al Vescovo Illustrissimo e reverendissimo Monsignore, il Guardiano e Religiosi Minori Conventuali di San Francesco della Terra della Fratta umilmente rappresentano a Vostra Signoria Illustrissima e Reverendissima come, fra gli altri stabili al loro Convento appartenenti, tengono una casa in detta Terra situata nella Piazza della Rocca compatronale ed indivisa con l'Accademia del teatro di detto luogo del valore di scudi sessanta moneta romana, trenta dei quali appartenenti e di ragione al loro Convento e gli altri trenta a detta Accademia; come anche ritengono un pezzo d'orto del valore di scudi quattro romana moneta, e siccome sì dell'uno che dell'altro ne ritraggono al presente poco e quasi niente d'utile, supplicano pertanto Vostra Signoria Illustrissima e Reverendissima volergli accordare il permesso di poter vendere detti stabili ascendenti al valore di scudi trentaquattro, come dalle perizie giurate e qui annesse, obbligandosi di depositare il denaro nel loro errario [sic] per rinvestirlo poi in miglior fondo. Che della grazia..... [Notaio Giovanni Battista Burelli. Archivio Notarile Umbertide. Registro 885 c. 29 ]. Contratto di compravendita tra i frati e gli accademici In Dei nomine amen.Die vigesima septima junii anno... [27 giugno 1788] Presenti e personalmente costituiti alla presenza mia e dei testimoni infrascritti li Reverendissimi Padri Francesco Antonio Celestini guardiano, Filippo Maria Magnanini e Felice Antonio Angelucci sacerdoti e religiosi di famiglia del venerabile convento de' Minori Conventuali di San Francesco di questa Terra della Fratta e quello intieramente rappresentando, tutti a me cogniti, i quali inerendo alla risoluzione del loro Capitolo congregato fin dal dì 21 maggio 1787, al quale di loro spontanea volontà ed in ogni altro modo migliore, in vigore della licenza e facoltà ottenuta dall'Illustrissimo e Reverendissimo Monsignor Vescovo di Gubbio, come dal suo rescritto in data 4 marzo 1788 che a me fu dato originale per inserirlo nel presente istromento, al quale danno, cedono e vendono all'Accademia del Teatro dei Riuniti di questa Terra, e per essa al [...] signor Don Nicolò del quondam signor Pietro Antonio Guardabassi membro della medesima qui presente a me cognito, a tale effetto dall'Accademia medesima deputato e per essa insieme con me notaio accettante e stipulante. La metà indivisa d'una casa, che detto convento godeva in comune coll'Accademia suddetta posta in questa Terra nella Piazza della Rocca, confinante nella parte posteriore le muraglie castellane mediante lo steccato; davanti la Piazza suddetta, da un lato le case degli eredi Fracassini e dall'altro il teatro suddetto salvi, composta di tre piani e stalla a pian terreno, con tutti i suoi scioiti, membri e pertinenze, ad avere, tenere e possedere con tutte e singole ragioni al detto convento competenti, ponendola e costituendola e fintantoché [omissis - formule varie] per il prezzo di scudi trenta moneta romana a tenore del foglio di perizia… [Notaio Giovanni Battista Burelli. Archivio Notarile Umbertide. Registro n. 885 c. 27]. Fonti: “Umbertide nel Secolo XVIII” di Renato Codovini e Roberto Sciurpa – Comune di Umbertide – Gesp, 2003

THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY FRATTA curated by Fabio Mariotti THE CASTLE OF FRATTA The castle within the walls was divided into three areas: the Terziere Inferiore , the Terziere di Mezzo , the Terziere Superiore which included the northern part of the castle (Rocca, north-west bulwark and was also called Terziere della Campana). The Terziere di Mezzo included the part towards the Tiber, the houses in front of the church of San Giovanni, the central square (square of the Marquis of Sorbello), the northern part of the Vicolo delle Petresche with the hospice of the Capuchin Fathers of Montone behind it, the part north of the middle road near the central square. It was also known as Terziere della Greppa. The lower Terziere (or Terziere della porta di sotto, also known as the door of the slaughterhouse) included the area around the southwestern bulwark, the southern part of the via delle Petresche (via Spunta current), the via regale (or straight, via Cibo), of the middle road and the San Giovanni road that led to the church of the same name. The castle walls In 1736 the Tiber, with its floods, ruined the central part of the west curtain and destroyed four houses built on that point of the walls. The budget of the defenders of Fratta amounted to 1,032 scudi. Wanting to hasten the reconstruction, they asked Clement XII for a subsidy and the pope replied that he would give five hundred scudi, however, when Fratta proved that he had found the rest. The defenders were able in a short time to find their part but, seeing that that promise from the pope did not arrive, they began to buy the timber for the armor, the bricks and the lime and entrusted the work to the master builder Bartolomeo Ferranti of Rome. They took action on September 15, 1739, but the pope had not yet paid the promised subsidy at the end of the year. The defenders gave the task to a Mariotti, a Frattegiano resident in Rome, and he replied that Clement XII was very ill and that the defenders of Fratta had to work hard to get the five hundred scudi. He adds that if the pope had died, it would have been much more difficult to obtain them. It is not known when the work was finished, but it was certainly done very quickly as winter approached. A plaque was affixed to the wall with the inscription "Clem XII Pont Max MDCCXXIYIX.", Which can still be seen about fifty meters before the bridge. The Tiber It had a different trend from the current one and was dangerous for two reasons: - the current was perpendicular to the road that led to the Niccone valley and to Città di Castello, even then of great communication, so it could have been cut. By 1758 he had come fifteen meters from the road and was threatening to cut it off. - if this had happened, the bridge would have remained dry, with evident damage to the town and with serious compromise of activities such as military defense, weir, mills, gardens, public wash house, sewage disposal. Work was done, using many large poles. In 1726 the bridge of the Reggia was consolidated, over which all the traffic, even heavy traffic, passed from Santa Maria to the church of the Madonna della Reggia and to San Francesco and Montone. The bridge was made of wood, except for the two brick ends and in 1770 the judiciary of Fratta decided to enlarge it. In 1787 the municipality incurred an expense to cover the top of the Rocca. The roof of the tower is rebuilt. The villages adjacent to the Castle The Borgo Superiore It is located north of the castle within the walls and includes the Castel Nuovo (formed by the two streets of the Boccaiolo and the one that leads from the Piaggiola to the market gate), the "Mercatale di Sant'Erasmo" (today's Piazza Marconi), the area of furnaces and the church of Santa Maria della Pietà. Palazzo Ranieri Owned by Count Curtio Ranieri, son of Costantino, it was in the Piaggiola road. In 1756 the count enlarged it. In front there was a public well (the widening that forms between the end of the Piaggiola and the Boccaiolo road) called the well of Sant'Agostino, near the church of the same name. Mill of the Fathers of San Bernardo (Castel Nuovo) It is located along the small road (now called del Molinaccio) which leads from the end of the Piaggiola to the Tiber. It was close to the castle walls and belonged to the Fathers of San Bernardo or Barnabiti. These had two small convents, one in Fratta and one in Migianella. In the Borgo Superiore there are still two tower-houses, one in the Mercatale area and another at the Porta del Boccaiolo. They consist of a bottom below and a room above. They were built for peasant use. The Lower Village It is also called "le Fabbrecce" because there are blacksmith shops and in the mill outside the Borgo, the scythes were rounded (as in the fourteenth century! Nothing had changed). It included the area of the street that led from the bridge of the Reggia to Piazza San Francesco, the Via di Santa Croce (now Via Soli) and the area outside the Borgo gate. At the beginning of the century, the road that began outside the San Francesco gate and led towards the Madonna del Moro was called the Caminella road; then strada del Piano (during the French occupation at the end of the century, strada Consolare del Piano); at the beginning of the twentieth century via Secoli. Along Santa Croce there was the Osteria della Corona, owned by Count Ranieri. The square was already called Piazza San Francesco. It changed its name later to go back to that name. Roads In 1790 work was carried out on the road to Montone, in the section under the convent of the Observant Friars of Santa Maria. The width is eight feet, like all the other roads leading to Fratta, the bracing of which is redone every year. The doors In 1788 an arm wrestling was put on the Porta della Saracina (there was still this mighty tower at the beginning of the bridge). Other works were done on the door of the market and that of the nuns. In 1790 the door of the Saracina is set up. In 1792 it was the turn of the bridge and work was done to lower the door to the market. Sources: - Renato Codovini - “History of Umbertide - Volume VI - 18th century” - Unpublished typescript. - Calendar of Umbertide 2001 - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2001 (Texts by Adriano Bottaccioli - Walter Rondoni - Amedeo Massetti - Fabio Mariotti). South-west bulwark of defense The plaque on the walls dedicated to Pope Clement XII The ancient houses on the Tiber. In the red circle the headstone - On the left, cadastral map of Fratta from the mid-1700s - Above, map of the medieval Fratta with the castle doors The cover of the 2001 Umbertide Calendar The historian Renato Codovini Il Castello di Fratta Il modo di vivere, di morire, la solidarietà e gli svaghi La chiesa di Sant'Andrea di Castelvecchio Il Castello di Fratta Le chiese minori di Fratta e i proietti L'Amministrazione e la Pubblica Sicurezza Gli appalti e le proprietà pubbliche Agricoltura, Commercio, Mestieri e Istruzione Il Tevere, i ponti, le mura del Castello Il sistema elettorale comunale L'Amministrazione e la Pubblica Sicurezza ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC SECURITY The municipal administration In the eighteenth century the public administration of Fratta has two different offices. From 1700 to 1787 the building located in today's Piazza Fortebracci, formerly the seat of the convent of Santa Maria di Castelvecchio (current seat of the Riuniti theater). From 1787 to 1799 in the palace of Castel Nuovo, formerly the seat of the convent of Santa Maria Nuova, suppressed in 1787. There are three administrative bodies: the judiciary, the council of twelve and the general council (or 42). The judiciary is made up of the four defenders, also called "priors" or simply "the magistrates". Once elected, they met and nominated the "chief magistrate" or "first prior". Person of great importance in social life, he came from the "first class". The election of the council was made between only two classes, the primary people of the place, civilians and landowners and the artists (craftsmen). The former are destined to obtain the rank of head of magistrate, the office of public chamberlain and the harangue of the council. The second the other three parts of the judiciary: the second, third and fourth prior who are distributed by seniority. The council of twelve met for decisions of greater importance, when they wanted to be sure that there would be no opposition to what was to be established. It was made up of the four defenders, the four counselors of the defenders, the three health conservatives and the chamberlain. He could not impose new taxes, vary the prices of abundance, discuss quarrels between citizens and the public administration, make decisions about wars, invasions, earthquakes, plagues. He was summoned by ringing the big bell with twelve taps. The council of 42 was the general council, that is the council of the twelve, increased by the representatives of the classes that had the right to be part of it and by the exponents of the major villas (hamlets). Organs: - Councilors (municipal). People who made up the two municipal councils (12 and 42). They were partially renewable, one third at a time, always removing the oldest ones. They belonged to the first and second classes. In 1798, following the French occupation, women were appointed municipal councilors for the first time. Three in Fratta and one in Preggio. - Defenders. There were four of them and they remained in office for four months. They were elected by means of a "bussolo" vote, but they did not receive any salary since theirs were an honorary office. Only at the end of the mandate were they compensated with a small sum as a gift, not exceeding one and a half shields. - Counsel for the defenders . There were four of them and each "on the sidelines" of a defender (or prior), to whom he gave advice. almost like today's personal secretary. They were chosen from among those who had been defender in the previous quarter, assuming that he had acquired some experience in the affairs of comitative government. - Gonfaloniere. First prior and head of the judiciary, he was called so only at the beginning of the restoration, after the end of the Roman republic. in August 1799. - Consular prefect of Fratta. Office of the French administration, reporting directly to the prefect of the canton of Fratta. He was the head of the commune of Fratta and also "president of the commune". - Prefect of the canton. Figure established in the last decade of the century, when there was the French invasion. The prefect was responsible for everything that took place in our canton, including the municipality of Preggio and Poggio Manente (San Paterniano) as well as Fratta. Employees and officials: - Archivist. Usually a notary. He drew up acts for the municipality but also for the citizens. - Balio. He was in charge of liaising between the judiciary and other community bodies and private citizens. He took four scudi a four-month period. - Camerlengo. Collection and payment clerk. He did not take any premium on the collection as he received a normal salary. - Chancellor. He had more or less the functions of today's municipal secretary. His office was called "chancellery" or "priority secretariat". - Commissioner and judge. Public official appointed by Perugia. His main task was to enforce the law and punish the guilty, but in the most difficult, delicate and controversial cases he had the order to send the guilty to Perugia subjecting them to the examination of the higher court. - Conservatives of health. Three people who remained in office for two years and had to belong to the first sphere, that is, to the first class. They spoke to the city council when called and their job was to give an opinion on what was being discussed in the meeting. - Donzello. Clerk to all minor duties, he had the lowest salary paid by the administration to an employee. - School teacher. His salary was paid partly by the municipal administration, partly by the parents of the children and another by the brotherhood of Santa Croce. - Doctor led. He was also paid by the municipality. - Moderator of the public watch . Supervisor, maintenance, loading and various checks of the public clock. - Portinari. Surveillance of the gates of the town who opened every morning and closed in the evening at about "two hours at night". - Preacher. Ecclesiastical, priest or friar, about three times a year he preached in the churches of the town. He stayed in Fratta for a few days, staying in a convent. - Praetor. Charge born at the time of the French invasion. - Commissioner. Charge that arose at the time of the French invasion. He kept the books of the canton's administration. - Scribe. Person in charge of copying documents, letters, reports of board meetings, etc. - Sindicators. We find this use in the first half of the century. The mayors controlled the community accounts and remained in office for one year. - Letter dealer. He was the postmaster, also hired by the municipality. - Public appraisers. We find them in the first half of the century. They were people responsible for estimating properties or various activities both for the interest of the municipality and for private citizens. They remained in office for a year. - Community representatives in Perugia and Rome. People involved in unraveling community affairs in these cities. Being well established in state offices, they had practice in public administration and were known by various employees. Management of the Municipality Revenue for taxes There were the chamber tax, the municipal tax, the privileged and fair tax, the allotment of the ground coffee. The community of Fratta imposed them on the population and then calculated its percentage on the sum; the remainder was sent to Perugia. The chamber tax was requested by the reverend Apostolic Chamber of Perugia, which kept a small sum and sent the rest to the central government of Rome. The privileged and fair tax related to the various privileges that the city of Perugia granted to its dependent communities. The ground tax concerned everything that was brought to the mill and was the most detested by the peasants. Then there was the focatico tax. It hit all the "fires", that is, the hearths, the families. It remained until the 1960s under the name of "family tax". In 1706 only eleven families paid for it; in 1728, fifty-seven. The "property tax" hit the owners of houses and land. In addition, there was the "undressing and jail tax". By "bare" was meant unnecessary clothing and by "galleys" a tax intended to strengthen the state's navy. Finally, there were other occasional taxes, such as the "tax on the million", introduced in 1713 by the papal government which needed as many scudi. Revenue for procurement They were preferred by the municipalities as they were easy to manage and made it possible to collect the maximum on set dates. The contracts were made known by posting a notice outside the door of the town hall: on the appointed day, the "piper" would station himself in certain points of the town, sound the trumpet and let people know the time and place of the competition. Which took place with the "virgin candle" method every three years. Procurement of the oven. Granted in 1710 to Ercolano Fanfani. It ensured the production of bread for the whole country. Wage contract. The prerogative of distributing the salt belonged to Perugia, which gave it out to the various communities. Fratta, in order to get the necessary, had to go and pick it up in Perugia or, when there was none in the warehouse, in some town on the sea road: Fossombrone, Fabriano, Jesi, Ancona. Contract of the oil shop and grocery store. It consisted in granting a contractor the service of selling edible oil and kinds of delicatessens in the municipal shop, at the prices established by the municipality and written prominently on a sign. Procurement of the land stamp. Those who wanted to occupy a part of the public land (for example street vendors) had to pay a certain fee. Procurement of the meat stamp. The "butchers" of Fratta had to "skin" the animals in the public slaughterhouse. After removing the skin (which was used for the sole of the shoes) they cut the animal and the pieces were stamped by the "meat boiler". The operation served to make it clear to those who bought which was ox and cow, calf, sheep or mutton. The "bollatore delle carne" made the butchers pay the stamp, then paid the municipality, in two or three installments, as established. Public procurement slaughterhouse. Whoever won the tender sold the meat in this shop for two or three years by paying the agreed sum, in half-yearly installments, to the municipality which had the purpose of keeping prices calm to favor the poorest population. Contract for damage given and deposit of pledges. The depositary of the "damage given" was assigned to the surveillance of public goods, movable or immovable, he noted, in his interest, the damage caused by citizens to public goods, brought these facts before the judge and commissioner. This was also joined by the contract for the "depository of the pawns" , that is the office that advanced money to whoever deposited a pledge. Procurement of measures. The possibility of having large quantities of goods weighed was the prerogative of the Noble College of Exchange of Perugia. The operation took place with a large scale, publicly owned, called "the big steelyard". Procurement of firewood. Those who intended to bring firewood into the village had to pay a right in money to the municipality. Who contracted the collection to a private citizen. Procurement of the foietta. The right to tax the sale of wine "al menuto", ie sold by glasses or foiette, was also contracted out by the municipality to third parties. Procurement of the cenciarìa. He charged the collection of rags. The contractor collected a fee from those who collected the rags and was also a collector. Contract for the pen . Collection of the excrements of the animals that passed through the country, assigned by means of a contract to the one who offered the highest price. Tiber wood tender. It used trunks and branches that were deposited under the bridge after the floods. Tiber fishing contract . It struck those who wanted to fish in the stretch of river under the jurisdiction of the municipality, that is, upstream of the bridge. Expenses The municipal administration of Fratta divided the expenses into "recurring expenses", "Occasional outgoings and expenses", "various gratifications". The "recurring outings" yes they distinguished in outputs for the achievement of the purposes of the institution and for alms. Among the former, the main item is the payment of employees and employees of each degree. A recurring exit was the seasonal arrangement of the roads which, both in the country and outside, they had to be bridged every November. Another expense was the annual cleaning of sewers, wells and fountains. It does not seem strange to consider among the recurring expenses also those "for alms", because at the time the municipality used to give money to some brotherhoods for the patronal feasts of Sant'Erasmo, San Bernardino and SSma Annunziata. He also bought wax (candles), "powder" (for the barrels), oil for lighting and other useful things in the processions. At Christmas and Easter the municipality also used to give gifts: to the representatives of the community in Rome gave two capons; to the four defenders, at the end of the mandate quarterly, two scudi. The "occasional expenses" were used, for example, to repair municipal-owned houses and farms, roads, bridges, town gates, to pay interest liabilities on debts, cops' living expenses. All those rewards, finally, that the It was common to give the refreshments offered in the form of gifts and tips to distinguished visitors to guests (for example for the arrival of the bishop), gifts to the commanders of the foreign troops of passage so that they did not do too much damage, donations to the convents. Public safety While the public administration was delegated, in Fratta, to the judiciary and to the municipal councils, in the eighteenth century public security was strictly the responsibility of the commissioner, who was appointed decenviral (that is, of the Perugian judiciary). The commissioner and ordinary judge, in this double capacity, had in his first role the competence over the public safety of the whole territory and the investigating power given to him by the Perugian executive. On the basis of this power, it resolved all issues relating to public order that arose in a territory of about five or six thousand inhabitants (Fratta and hamlets), up to the arrest of those responsible. For certain crimes he sent the guilty to Perugia, to his superior judicial body or criminal office, as it was then called. In the event of minor disputes (those which today, for example, are the responsibility of the justice of the peace) he invited the parties to go to a notary and in his presence formulate a "peace act" between them. In case of crimes of greater gravity (usually acts of banditry), where the powers and possibilities of the commissioner proved powerless, he asked Perugia to send one or more teams of cops. They, with the force of arms, were able to put an end to those emergency situations and to restore the normality of life, bringing the offenders to Perugia. In the village the behavior of the cops was rather heavy and savage and the population paid the price, but this was well tolerated by the "good government" for which the fear that they knew how to instill in the people was obviously convenient, as it facilitated their way to act. The cops also came in times of epidemic diseases and if there was to fight the bands of brigands. In these cases they also went to guard the border areas and blocked the road with large iron gates to prevent transit in both directions. During their passage they stayed at the Osteria della Corona where they could stay for several days, but they were always frowned upon by the population as they committed abuses of all kinds and even harassed the hosts and their families. The Count of Civitella, who owned it, decided for these reasons to close not only this tavern to the public but also the one located in the San Giovanni street. It is the first case of "lockout" of an exercise. The municipality then bought a house to be used for housing the cops when they came to Fratta. It was bought in 1770, in via di San Giovanni and became the office and residence of the commissioner-judge. In this way it was possible to free the two rooms of the town hall which had already been used for this purpose for several years. Security problems also arose at the time of French domination, due to the harassment carried out by those troops. The commissioner-judge could not move as he wanted in these situations: the military occupation had effectively nullified many of his possibilities. In May 1798, for example, the French soldiers of General La Vallette, coming from Città di Castello, committed various abuses, including the destruction of furniture and books from the convent of San Francesco. It is due to such vandalism that nothing has remained on the life of our convents whose friars had come to Fratta in the last decade of the 13th century. In December 1785 the central government of Rome forbids all games in taverns and taverns. In 1788 soldiers were sent to Fratta to oppose a gang of criminals. In 1791 it was necessary to arm other soldiers, in the face of new raids by brigands who escaped, in July, from the Macerata prison and considered very dangerous by the government which had made prizes available to those who had captured them. A great scourge of time was that of collecting grains, which were then sold outside the kingdom. To put an end to this illicit trade, the municipality issues a notification against the "grabbers of wheat products". On August 13, 1795, a decree tends to limit the underworld of our province by forbidding those who go to the Monteluce fair from carrying weapons. In 1788 an ordinance was issued against "wounders and those who insult in the streets, with or without weapons". On 26 March 1797 two companies of the Colonna regiment pass through Fratta, the Vespiccini company and the Colonnello company. On June 26, Corsican soldiers "fled from Faenza due to the French invasion, commending themselves to the mercy of this public". He is fed. On February 2, 1798, carriages from Cisalpini pass. Sources: - Renato Codovini - “History of Umbertide - Volume VI - 18th century” - Unpublished typescript. - Calendar of Umbertide 2001 - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2001 (Texts by Adriano Bottaccioli - Walter Rondoni - Amedeo Massetti - Fabio Mariotti). Today Teatro dei Riuniti, from 1700 to 1787 seat of the Municipality of Umbertide The town hall in the early 1900s Old photo of the church of S. Bernardino Ancient image of the Castle of Civitella di Civitella Ranieri THE WAY OF LIVING, OF DYING, SOLIDARITY AND LEISURE The way of life At the beginning of the eighteenth century most of the people of Fratta struggled in misery. The few owners (and this throughout the Papal State) had a good game to keep wages low, given the large supply of labor, fed by many poor people looking for work. There were other elements to burden this picture: the frequent famines, the extraordinary taxes to compensate for the various flaws in the central administration, the devaluations of the currency to fill the sudden cash gaps. The people were totally subject to higher taxes. He didn't feel the need to rebel, but he certainly felt the weight of it. The entertainment The Frattegiani's opportunities for recreation and distractions were not many and all more or less orchestrated from above. The theater, as the local academics society had a certain activity; patronal and religious festivals in general; the public joy in the cases of the most sumptuous marriages and in the passage through Fratta of the cardinal protector; the festivities in the immediate surroundings of the town. They could lock themselves up to play in the Osteria della Corona or in that of the Staffa but, above all, they had the greatest set of distractions and entertainment during the carnival period. It began on the day of Saint Anthony and ended on the "fat Saturday" with the midnight dinner, called "la sabatina", made up of fatty foods. Weddings They were characterized by three moments: the private policy, the notarial deed, the ceremony in the church. With the private policy, the families established the economic conditions under which they would allow the marriage of their children. The parties then went to the "notary", together with the witnesses, to ratify the agreement. Finally, the ceremony followed, celebrated "according to the rite of the Holy Roman Church", preceded by a public "denunciation". The marriage was registered by the priest in the special book which, in 1741, had the five baiocchi stamp of the reverend Apostolic Chamber. The processions They all had a religious character and there were no civil processions or parades. Their development was linked to the many festivals of the time; then there were others that originated from contingent events (rain, earthquake, disease, etc.). In the seventeenth century they were still called with the old medieval name of "lumi", for which going in procession was said to "go to the light" (taking place almost always in the evening, there was a great display of lights, with candles, "fàcole" of pitch , oil lights). They were planned a few days earlier by a certain fraternity which appointed a group of five or six brothers who were entitled to the honor of the organization. These were called "above" and had the task of looking for the necessary money in the "begging" done in the countryside or in the streets and squares of the town, especially on market or fair days. Elements common to all the processions were the presence of (lay) companies and (religious) congregations with their brothers, closed in their cloaks of different colors and shapes. The representatives of the community for the occasion wore the ceremonial dress (the purple rubbone), while the soldiers, often Corsican mercenaries, came specially from Perugia. Another element was the "machine", that is the large wooden scaffolding equipped with two large and long poles which served to support the statue of the saint for whom the procession was made and which was carried on the shoulder. Finally, the banners of religious and secular associations among which wooden sticks with cloth and fringes sprouted, carried by the sacristans of the churches, in the midst of a cloud of smoke, smells and sizzles of burning pitch released from the many "fàcole", candles, lights and a burst of barrels that framed that whole. In the end, those who had intervened wearing the "hood" were given food consisting of bread, cakes, torcoli, wine, the distribution of which often gave rise to "abuses and dishonesty" and several times the bishops of Gubbio suspended "the brothers' tycoon that go in procession ", and replaced it with distribution of candles. But given a certain rarefaction of the people in tow, everything returned as before. Parties and sweets In the eighteenth century there were about twenty feasts a year and they all had the common and main component of religiosity. The banners of the art corporations, religious fraternities (or companies), congregations (only priests) intervened together with that of the community of Fratta. These associations, together with the municipality, thought of the decorations, both of the town and of the churches. They were made with great pomp, of the drapery type (the "drapoloni"), of silk or damask, as well as they could consist of light weaves (structures) of wood or light metal, of various designs, covered with fabrics or flowers ( even fake), ribbons and lace at will. It was possible then, but only on major occasions, to the construction of real triumphal arches for the streets and gates of the town. Among the characteristic festivals there was the "flower festival of May", promoted by the company of Sant'Antonio. On such occasions, in the organizing church, there was always a "choir of musicians" and singers. On 8 September 1795, for the feast, the famous Frattegiano singer Domenico Bruni arrived in the church of San Francesco, passing through one of his numerous artistic tours that he sang among the amateurs of the town, without any compensation. In the evening, the houses were lit with candles in the windows and everyone waited for the climax of the "barrels and rays". The costume In the eighteenth century the "sumptuary laws" of the seventeenth century on the way of dressing were in force in the Roman ecclesiastical kingdom, which forbade citizens (not the rich) certain luxurious ways, discriminating and further distancing the various social classes. In 1703 Pope Clement XI issued an edict in which he ordered low-status women to renounce any adornment, imposing the use of ordinary fabrics and non-violent colors. It was then forbidden to those of the people and petty bourgeois (edict of Clement XII in 1730) to put gold and silver trimmings on headdresses, fabrics and ornaments. The way to die In the parish books we find various "systems" to pass on to a better life. In 1715, with a touch of romanticism, - "... died at 10 pm on the moon ...". There are also descriptions of violent deaths, such as "... assaulted by two brothers, one of whom took his gun and shot him in the chest and so wounded he fled the Tiber on the boat of Ascagnano". In 1740, for a woman who throws herself into the Tiber "... At other times she had done other wisdom". A woman dies "from a serious fall made on the precipitous stairs of her house". Another, certain "Francesca di Brizio found in the house all burned with the exception of the head". Then there are death records and testamentary dispositions which show the religious sentiment of the people. Sant'Antonio da Padova enjoyed a certain cult in our country, so much so that he had his own altar in the church of the Compagnia del Soccorso, in the monastery of Santa Maria Nuova. In 1722 a Frattegiana told the notary "I want to be buried at the altar of St. Anthony of Padua, my lawyer and protector dressed in the habit of St. Anthony ...". In another testament of 1794 we find instead the extreme will of a sinner (or presumed such). He explains how his funeral must take place: "... from the house where I live my body is to be taken directly to the church without any turn of the streets and this in order not to remind the public of the scandals given in my life. When it reaches the church it is immediately buried without to expose the corpse of such a great sinner to the public's view, without wax, or music, or other similar things that vanity has been able to invent ". Funerals and burials The dead person, after having received, sooner or later, the visit of his parish priest for the absolution and registration of the death in the parish books, remains entrusted to the relatives and is stripped, washed, then wrapped in a sheet, ready for the funeral (or fùnere, as it was said then). That was the responsibility of the parish priest of the parish to which the dead man belonged and, if he was in a company or in a congregation, the association sent its own representation of brothers dressed in "hoods". The dead man was placed on top of the bier, with the top layer covering him, then carried on the shoulder to the church. Often the testator, among other things, indicated the place of burial. In fact, the dead were buried in the rear part (cemetery) of the church, but some were placed in existing mounds under the floor. There was therefore a distinction between outside, where the poorest were buried, and inside, where the brothers of the lay companies and the wealthy were placed (noble sepulchres), while the truly rich had their chapel. The noble tombs, for the rich, were obtained in front of the altars (even the main one) or on the sides of the same. In the entombment, the simple burial of the corpse wrapped in a sheet was carried out. The box was used only exceptionally, when it was a person who had acquired a great human value in life, or for the rich or for those who died outside the country and whose body had to be brought back to Fratta, transported on the wagon to horses. The burial in consecrated land was conditional on the fact that the dying person had first confessed and communicated, with the exception of those who had died suddenly. In the latter case it was the priest who ascertained whether the deceased had confessed some time before and, in any case, had always lived as a good Christian. The unconsecrated land was near the church cemeteries. Solidarity Wheat mountain It was commissioned by Don Giuliano Bovicelli di Fratta, a priest in Rome where he held the office of secretary to Cardinal Sacripante. Bovicelli, in the year 1715, donated the sum of one hundred scudi to the brotherhood of San Bernardino, of which he was a brother, with whom "... he wanted and longed for a mountain of wheat to be created in order to buy grain for the poorest population ". The brotherhood immediately bought two hundred wheat "stands" and started this institution. The wheat mountain stored grain for harvest and then gave it free to the poorest during the winter and spring, when it was difficult to find it. After the legal institution of 17191a confraternity began looking for a suitable seat where to arrange both the grain and the administrative office of the mountain. He succeeded only many years later, in 1764, when he bought a small house owned by the company of the Most Holy Sacrament in the central square, called "del Marchese" (Piazza Matteotti). The pawnshop Poor people who needed small loans of money turned to it and brought their little things as collateral, that is, movable goods of all kinds. For this service the municipality requested a sum to be calculated as a percentage. This was truly negligible, that is, much less than what would have been paid by resorting to the loan of the Jews, then present in Fratta, whose interest rates were much higher. The community of Fratta was authorized to manage this institution by the municipality of Perugia, from which it had contracted it out and to which it had to pay a sum. annual. The municipality could therefore manage it on its own but could also subcontract it, as it did in the year 1748 when the Monte was sold under contract to Ubaldo Moretti di Fratta. Free study The community of Fratta could send "two young people to the Episcopal Seminary of Gubbio every year, to remain free there, as long as they have the necessary requisites and are suitable to set out on the Ecclesiastical Way". Assistance to the "exposed" The "exposed" were newborns abandoned at the door of churches or hospitals, sent by the community to the hospital of Santa Maria della Misericordia in Perugia. Here many foundlings die because the nannies cannot be paid. Those who take babies to breastfeed them "... Also have five or six in the chest", so nourishment is scarce and deaths are many. Before 1739 the external nurses received a "dirty" grain mine a year, too little for Cardinal Martino Enrico Caracciolo, apostolic visitor in that year to Perugia, who assigns each six paoli a month, plus a shield, a tantum, after the eighteenth month. These children went around with a tag attached to their neck to indicate the date of baptism and the name. Gifts for spinsters In the eighteenth century some local brotherhoods, including that of Santa Croce which was the richest, bestowed a dowry on a spinster. In this way, girls who had to marry but who could not afford the necessary expenses were helped in this way since 1612. The dowry, one a year, was granted upon written request to spinsters born in the village (such as their parents), attaching a certificate from the parish priest who attested to both the birth, the age and the patronage of these girls. The brotherhood then chose a certain and limited number of girls and subjected them to an examination. The vinciti-ice could have the dowry only if and when he got married. There was also a deadline, which was 35 years; if the girl did not marry by this age, the brotherhood would take back the dowry. Another reason why the dowry was denied was that the girl, before marrying, did not live honestly. The entertainment Theater Already in the seventeenth century an association of theatrical art lovers was operating in Fratta called "Accademia degli Inestabili". In 1746 it had to proceed with its reorganization, which suggests that it was in a strongly negative phase. On the other hand, public and private music teaching was very active. In particular in the oratories, where the youth met for religious representations, with singing and instrumental schools linked to the various religious functions of the feast days. The Fratta theater was located since 1746 in the town hall, in today's Piazza Fortebracci. On the first floor there were some offices and the council meeting room which was given to the "unstoppable academics" for their performances. It had two "lodges" which probably served for municipal councilors, but were open to the public for the theater. You entered via a stone staircase placed outside. In 1770 it was still in the hall on the first floor of the town hall but this room was by now insufficient for the activity of academics. They therefore decided to expand it and asked for two adjacent rooms that served as the office of the commissioner and judge as well as for the passing cops. In 1746 we know that they wanted to reconstitute a theatrical association on a different basis from the old one: perhaps the "unstable academics" had dissolved, in whole or in part, towards the end of the 17th century. In the mid-eighteenth century the members of the "Accademia degli Inestabili" were eleven, from the main families of the town, such as the Fabbri, the Francesconi, the Burelli, but then the number grew and other illustrious personalities took part, such as Dr. Prospero Mariotti, his son Annibale and doctor Giulio Fracassini. The academy had a coat of arms formed by a noble shield where a hand was drawn. He held three gold cords intertwined together that ended with leads like a small tassel and, all around, the motto "Difficile solvitur" (it will hardly melt). Outside the theatrical season (ie outside the carnival), the amateur dramatists of the country acted instead, who were mostly the academics themselves and the members of their families. The plays were performed to train young people in stage disciplines rather than to give entertainment to the population. In the mid-eighteenth century, dramatic companies of a nomadic nature were a rarity and the first came to play in Fratta in 1748. It was the company of Giovanni Gazzola, a professional "histrionist artist" who, after many difficulties in obtaining authorization, was able to delight the Frattegiani with the affected parts of Pulcinella, Brighella and Doctor Belanza. Our theater closed, like everyone else in the Roman kingdom, from 1791 to 1795 by order of Pope Pius IV, due to the political events of the time, centered on the invasion of Italy by the French army. It was then reopened with the works "The guilty woman" and "The corsair of Marseille", where that "corsair" must have been a clear reference to the work of Napoleon, the most interesting character in the political scene of the time. The theater was granted on request for dance parties, elementary school work, occasions in which the best children were rewarded. Sometimes it was then granted for the game of bingo, introduced in Perugino in 1796. In the first months of 1798 the "Viva Maria" movement arose. In mid-February Fratta was invaded by these rioters who did various damages to municipal and private property, tampered with the theater and dispersed the administration documents. Free time In 1730, the "ox hunt", or "fence game", a sort of bullfight between oxen and dogs in a town square, usually San Francesco. In 1760 we have news that hunting was practiced in the months of September and October, the so-called "birding" (with the net). In 1794 the game of the "ball" or "ball" appears in Piazza San Francesco. Sources: - Renato Codovini - “History of Umbertide - Volume VI - 18th century” - Unpublished typescript. - Calendar of Umbertide 2001 - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2001 (Texts by Adriano Bottaccioli - Walter Rondoni - Amedeo Massetti - Fabio Mariotti). Il modo di vivere, di morire, la solidarietà e gli svaghi Procession of the Madonna - late 1950s. (Corradi photographic archive) The facade of the church of San Francesco The opera singer Domenico Bruni Piazza Umberto I (now Matteotti) in the early 1900s. (Historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide). In 1700 it was smaller and was called piazza del Marchese. Annibale Mariotti Giuliano Bovicelli AGRICULTURE, TRADE, TRADES AND EDUCATION Agriculture In 1700 the permanent settlement in the countryside was much safer than in previous centuries and the construction of farmhouses was no longer based on the tower-house system, the house with a minimum surface area but developed in height, suitable for housing and also for defense. of the peasant and his household goods. Now the type of house developed on a flat level is adopted, with a greater base, lower height, overall higher airspace. It has a ground floor used for agricultural management and a first floor for the farmer's home. The land could be "arable", "canapinato", "cerquato", "gineprato", "gengato", "working", "olivato", "ortivo", "pergola", "grass", "sodivo", "fucato" "," Vlneat0 "," silvato "," boschivo "(or" buscato "). The "cerquato" land was held in great esteem because the oak was even considered a fruit plant due to the great need for acorns that were used for pigs but, at times, in cases of great famine, they were reduced to flour as an aid to feeding. Human. There was a dominance of the pergola over the vineyard, a fair extension of the olive grove and the presence of the "canapinato" in the places richest in water. The extension of the land was measured in the capacity (rubbia, mina, stara, cup) of seeds necessary to cover the ground. The owners are very few. We find noble families such as Ranieri, Degli Oddi, Bourbon di Sorbello, Florenzi, Antinori, Crescenzi, Zeccadoro who had lands in Fratta but resided elsewhere, for which they did not pay taxes. There were resident families, also very rich: Alberti, Albanesi, Bertanzi, Bruni, Agostini, Burelli, Gnoni, Fracassini, Guardabassi, Magnanini, Paolucci, Petrogalli, Reggiani, Vibi, Cambiotti, Cibo, Mavarelli, Ramaccioni, Montanucci, Falici , Bartoccini. The leases were of two kinds: a temporary type, stipulated for three, six and nine years and the type called "emphyteusis" which usually covered a period of three generations. These were the most used but there were some valid for a single "riculture", that is, for a single crop or a single agricultural year. There are three parties to the dispute, even if only two stipulators, namely the owner of the land and the tenant who makes the peasants work the land, excluded from the negotiation. The owner had to allow the tenant to have the peasant's family members live in the farmhouse; he had to give vines and olive trees to be planted in the year. If he did not provide them, the tenant was released from the "planting" obligation and the owner could not oblige him the following year. The tenant was required to keep the plants found in the delivery inventory, he could send the farmers away at his will and pleasure. It was up to him to pay, in addition to the rent, the duties, the gabelles, the chamber's taxes. He had to leave the sown land as he had found it at his entrance; he had to return the barrels but be careful "that they are of good smell and without any vice, as he receives them". At the end of the rent, the pigs and the large cattle were given back according to the estimate; the sheep and goat cattle were made at the head. The farmer had to sow wheat and fodder with his own seed, prune and undermine young and old trees, plant a certain number of vines and olive trees every year with the system of formoni and that of single holes. Do not cut fruit trees, only lumber that has died from the fire. He had to take part of the land product to the master's house and for this he was paid in kind or in foodstuffs. The must was divided in half. At Easter he had to give a certain quantity of eggs and "pancasciato"; he had to give gifts and obligations in chickens and eggs. In the eighteenth century there was no "colonial pact" specified and imposed by law as will happen later, but only unwritten agreements. Of the products of the fields, half went to the owner (dominical part) and half to the farmer. In the cases of three-way relationships (owner, tenant and farmer) the division took place between tenant and farmer; the master took the rent. The owner was responsible for the costs of pruning and undermining the vines, the formoni and the pits, the fees to the farmer when he was called to give his "assistance" to the harvest work, to sift the wheat and shovel it, to do various jobs of the cellar, when it brought to sell the products to the market, the appraisals and the taming of the cattle, the construction and the accommodation of the rural buildings. They produced cecio, red cecio, hemp, cicerchie, cherries, beans, broad beans, mulberry leaves, opium leaves, figs, cheese, wheat, corn, acorns, lenses, lentils, wool, flax, lupins, honey, hazelnuts, walnuts , barley, olives, panic, pears, peaches, peas, grapes, vetch, vein, wine. The farmer had to pay a tax called "collar" when he used the oxen that belonged to the owner to work the land. The peasant's give and take resulted from the "workers' book". On the hill farms, sheep and goats were kept, but also many pigs. The Commerce The aspect that characterizes the economy is the static nature of values. There is no inflation and the differences in the prices of some commodities are caused by momentary extraordinary factors. Another component is the painfulness of work, of wages stuck on the verge of a tiring survival. The economy is very poor, both at the territorial level (municipality of Fratta) and in the Papal State. Another aspect is the almost total concentration of productive activities such as agriculture, for example, in the hands of a few nobles who also took possession of a certain industrial activity (wool mills). There was also a small artisan industry (iron and figulina [terracotta]), but it was limited by a limited availability of capital, always insufficient as it was available in the family. The large payments were made with "bank coupons", generic receipts issued by banks (the "Monti"). The deeds were stipulated by the notary who certified that the buyer was putting the money on the table. Sellers - Bocci (silkworms): Mavarelli, woman Caterina Igi. - Hemp: Alessio Moriconi. - Calcina: Mariangelo di Paolo, Domenico Stoppa. - Construction material: Giovanni Maria Diamanti, Menco di Natale, Andrea Fanfani, Molinari, Domenico Salvatori, Fortunato Agostini, Ludovico Cristiani. - Fronda dei mori (mulberry trees): Antonio called "il Regnicolo", the "Stinco". - Timber: Andrea Bellagamba, Raffaele Scapicchi, Antonio di Giovan Battista, Paolo di Giorgio, Gio. Tomasso da Monte Castelli, Giuseppe Jotti, - Straw: Girolimo di Rondino. - Hides: Pietro Baldoni is a seller (and collector) of goat skins and "white bassettes". - Stabbio: Donna Carolina Gratini (1712) to the brotherhood of San Bernardino; Costantino di Vincentio, Angelino Mavarelli, Giulio Rovinati. Mattio Massi, Filippo Leonetti, Filippo Carocci. - Wine: they received monetary compensation for each barrel of wine. Santi di Cristoforo (1700), Francesco Franceschini, Federico Palazzari (1701), Pietro Martinelli (1715/1749), Francesco Mercante (1722), Antonio Jotti (1726), Costanza Martinelli (1727/1738), woman Elisabetta Jotti, known as " the Padella "(1733/1735), Bernardino Cantelli (1741), Elisabetta Falcioli (1741/1747), Fabrizio Brugnoli (1749), Donna Francesca d'Andrea (1751), Donna Margherita Massi called" the Margarita "(1756/1759 ), Giovanni del quondam Andrea (1759/1760), woman Virginia Ciangottini (1767), Tommaso and Clemente Ciangottini (1768), Antonio known as "il Regnicolo" (1780), woman Maria Antonia Mercanti (1782/1784). Gambattista Fanfani (1787), Gian Maria Bartolini (1789). Shops and shopkeepers 1702 - Gregorio Molinari: glass. 1706 - Francesco Luminati: wax. 1718 - workshop of "Fabbreccia", in Piazza San Francesco, on the side of the Tiber. 1722/1730 - Sante Mavarelli: bread, lard, lard, wax, fàcole and gunpowder. 1724 - cobbler's shop. There were hammer, pincers, ligiatore, knife, stick. 1732 - Pietro Spaccini: glass, dies for windows (to be placed between the glass). 1732 - Gaspare Martinelli: lead for the dies. 1741/1749 - Domenico Cerbonelli: wax, string, nails, incense. 1745 - Borgo di Sopra, market area, Vasaro Giovan Maria Martinelli. 1745 - Borgo di Sopra, master Antonio Vibi, arquebusier. 1745 - Borgo Inferiore, three blacksmith shops. 1748 - Agostino Bettelli: wax. 1753 - Gaspare Martinelli: lead for glass. 1765 - Ercolano Roni: eggs. 1767 / 1797- Vibi: lace, wax, etc .. 1770 - Silvestro Jlartinelli has a "cossi" shop. 1770/1776 - Domenico Mavarelli: wax, lead for paints, canvas bombage . 1779/1795 - Donino Passalbuoni: shoe shop. 1776 - Burelli: "spetie", wax and shellac. 1781 - Vincenzo Mavarelli: wax. 1788 - Guerrini: wax. 1788 - Ubaldo Perugini: oil. 1791 - Alessio Vioriconi: cloth for sacks. 1792 - Girolamo Ciangottini: wax. 1794 - piazza San Francesco, a potter's shop with an adjoining furnace. 1794 - Piaggiola, shoemaker shop. 1794/1797 - “between the doors”. small square at the south-west bulwark (Tiber), the butchery shop, municipal meat resale. 1795 - 1799 - Vincenzo Mavarelh: balance bills, nails, pins, centaroles, silk buds. Taverns and hotels -Osteria della Corona "with accommodation. It was located in Piazza San Francesco, in front of the church of Santa Croce. It was owned by the Counts of Civitella Ranieri. In 1738, a Perugia cop died there, hit by a harquebus." Osteria della Staffa " , with lodging, in the street of San Giovanni, inside the castle walls.It was probably the property of Count Ranieri.There were also the taverns of Antonia Mercanti, with lodging, of Giuseppe Carocci, of Sebastiano Cesaretti. In 1721 there is "the Osteria di Pier Antonio", managed by a certain Bruscatelli. Next to it stood a "palombaro", the classic peasant house. The villa (hamlet) consisted of only these two or three houses. Nearby was the chapel of the Holy Spirit. "L'osteria della Mita" was owned by the Marquises Florenzi di Reschio, who lived in Perugia. Towards Città di Castello there was "l'osteria di Montalto", on the level of the Tiber, along the consular road from Fratta to Niccone. It belonged to the Counts Degli Oddi of Perugia, also owners of the castle of Montalto. Finally, there was "1'osteria della Nese", on the river of the same name, on the border between Perugia and Fratta. Fairs and markets Fairs were held in the first week of June and took place in the square of the church of Sant'Erasmo, also known as "il Mercatale". Only the cattle for such occasions found place in another location, usually the large municipal lawn located beyond the Tiber bridge. In Civitella Ranieri the fair took place between 20 and 25 July. In Montalto, on May 28th. The post office In the eighteenth century the Upper Tiber Valley was crossed by two services with diligence (two "mail courses", as it was then called). One came from Città di Castello and was directed to Perugia, the other departed from Montone and was also directed to Perugia: they stopped in Fratta to change horses, to pick up the mail and any passengers. These "mail courses" arrived in Fratta early in the morning, first that of Montone, then that of Città di Castello, with a delay that could be half an hour compared to the fixed time. They reached Perugia about four hours later. In addition to the "scheduled" service, there was also a special "course", for urgent community mail, called "lo sped" or "celerifero" (a kind of "priority mail). Provided by a man on horseback who brought "bolzetta" (leather bag) only the parcels of the municipality for which the departure of the diligence could not be expected the following day. Trades Oil mills There was one near the Lazzaro ditch, on the border between the "Mercatale di Sant 'Erasmo" and the area of Santa Maria. He probably also had a millstone. In 1794 it belonged to the Mazzaforti brothers who rented it for four years to Ubaldo Cambiotti. In the area there were oil mills in Cicaleto, Migianella, Monte Acuto ("Molino with its press and vine, in whose stump there are three iron circles, the millstone with its trestle and on an iron stake but with a wooden wedge" ), Racchiusole, San Patrignano. Grain mills In the "villa" of Cicaleto, in the parish of San Giuliano, property of the Camaldolese friars of Montecorona. It was located one kilometer from the Tiber river, south of Fratta and remained active until the early decades of the twentieth century. It had its own dam, the grinding wheel, the "cialandro", the hopper, the iron blades. And the "fulling machine", the mechanism for beating woolen cloths by means of large wooden hammers that were moved by the water. Other grain mills were located in Molino Vitelli, Monte Migiano, Serra "di Partuccio", San Patrignano and the abbey of San Salvatore (inside, it was called "mill of the cloister" and drew water from a ditch). I calcined In Santa Giuliana, owned by Mariangelo di Paolo. He made mortar which he sold the soma to four baiocchi. Another on the coast of Monte Acuto, belonging to the Fracassini family. Furnaces They had one Angelo di Roso and Fortunato Agostini, who in 1751 sold bricks for the facade of Santa Croce. In Carpini and Montalto, of the Degli Oddi of Perugia, owners of the castle of the same name. It was demolished by a flood of the Tiber in 1760. A bit of everything'.. Archibugieri: master Giulio Castellani, master Giuseppe and master Antonio. Gilders: Antonio Gabriotti, in 1717 gives gold to the candlesticks and carteglories of Santa Croce; Giuseppe Ferranti, from Gubbio. Silversmiths: Silvestro Angelini, from Perugia; in 1743 he sold a chalice and a silver paten to the Confraternity of Santa Croce. Bastari: Pietro Profili, Tommaso Mischianti, Giacomo Botti and Fabio Urbani. Bottari and bigonzari: Alessandro Jotti, Angelo Ciangottini, Francesco Puletti. Calzolari: were gathered in the congregation of the art of shoe-making (which had its own chapel in the church of Santa Croce, at the altar of Saints Crispino and Crispiniano, protectors of the category): Pietro di Angelo, Ubaldo Moretti, Carlo Guerrini, Donino Passalboni, Antonio Mariani. Hatters: Passalbuoni, Giuseppe Benedetti from Città di Castello. There was also a shop in Castel Nuovo. Canapari: Giovan Carlo Montanucci. Tanners: Giulio and Panfilio. Designers: Brischi, Giuseppe Notari and Giovan Pietro Gigli. Fabbri: Lorenzo and Pietro Martinelli, Carlo Francesconi, Domenico Paganelli, Raimondo Rotelli, Pier Giovanni Lestini, Francesco d'Agostino, known as "Ferraccio". At the end of the eighteenth century two blacksmith shops were in the small open space at the beginning of the road that leads to the Borgo Inferiore, immediately after the bridge over the Reggia. In 1798 Silvestro Martinelli and Vincenzo Jotti are the "officials" of the art and university of blacksmiths. Carpenters: Carlo Bolisi (1720), Ludovico Franceschini (1724), Alessandro Jotto (1753), Giovan Lorenzo Gigli (1750), Francesco Moscatelli (1745) in Pierantonio, Giuseppe Jotti (1749). Founders: Gregorio Righi, from Perugia, melts and accommodates the bells of Santa Croce in 1717. Fornari: Bartolomeo di Lorenzo, Domenico Lauri, Giovan Battista di Giulio, Bernardino Tassi, Olimpia Tassi. Carvers: Marco Batazzi, Alessandro Igi. Slaughterers: Santino, Andrea, Giuseppe Schiavini; Angelino Mavarelli, Marino Farneti. Magnani: Michele Aragoni (1698/1710). Laborers and porters: Tommaso di Francesco, Santi Paoletti. Giulio di Goro, Domenico Salvatori. Marescalchi: Antonio Mazzanti. Measurers, estimators: Fabrizio Mazzaforti (barrel meter), Lodovico Franceschini (grain meter), Alessandro Jotti (timber estimator), Antonio Brischi (wine meter), Vincenzo Mavarelli (wine estimator). Molinari: Tommaso Mancini, Giuseppe di Antonio. Masons: Giovanni, known as "Miracle", Costanzo di Cesare, Antonio di Giovan Maria, Ventura Bartoccini (master mason), Ercolano Corsini, Domenico Farneti (master mason). Mason's tools were the hammer, the spoon, the hoe for making mortar, the hammer, the lead, the archipendolo, the shovel to scornigate. Organ builders: Carlo Balducci, Pietro Forti, Orazio Fedeli. Pyrotechnicians: 1786, Francesco Natali; 1787, Bernardino Brischi Painters: Antonio Gabriotti, Francesco Leonardi, Ubaldo Vitaliani, Giuseppe Ferranti, Francesco Cocchi, Giuseppe Bertanzi. Pollaroli: Pietro known as "1'Anitraro", Giambattista. Pruners: Antonio called Sciuga, Francesco di Antonio; Francesco Scalseggia. Embroiderers: Colomba Vespucci. Tailors: Guerrini, Crestina Francesconi woman, Francesco Moriconi, Mauritio Pucci, Margherita Massi woman. Stonecutters: Francesco di Vincenzo, Lorenzo Brischi, Francesco known as "Borzicchio", Domenico Mavarelli, "il Riccio". Segatori: Giuseppe Moretti, Tommaso di Pascuccio, Belardino known as "il Regnicolo", Paolo Pieroni, Panfilio di Francesco, Paolo Ercoli. Saddler: Fabio Urbani Stucchi: Giuseppe Notari (1753, works in Santa Croce), Giovanni Cherubini. Weavers: Maria Cristina Francesconi, Aurora Roni, Elisabetta Cantelli woman, Margherita Massi woman. There are no factories, woolen mills and cloth factories. The processing is done in the homes of private citizens as many have looms. Dyer: Gerolamo Martinelli. Vasari: Francesco Fussai (1709), Giammatteo Martinelli (1742), Silvestro Martinelli, Gaetano Martinelli. Painters: Giuseppe Ferranti Carriers and couriers: Paolo Cangelotti, Marino Rotelli, Tommaso di Marco, Andrea di Ercolano, Giovanni known as "Spaterna", Pietro Simone Cicutella. Education In the eighteenth century there was a school where the first elements of reading, writing and arithmetic were taught, held by a clergyman. He was paid by the community with a salary that was, at the beginning of the century, of about twelve, fourteen scudi a year. To these were added three shields from the confraternity of Santa Croce as schoolmaster and another twenty-five that the same corresponded to him "for the chaplaincy", the task of saying masses in the chapel of the brotherhood. The employment contract was stipulated between the municipality and the master before the notary. In case of vacancy, the parents of the children signed a policy with which they agreed to pay a small sum to the municipality, in favor of the teacher. The school was located in the Borgo Inferiore, in the premises of the Confraternity of Santa Croce. At the end of the century, the master took thirty-two scudi a year from the community. In addition to this he received eight scudi from the Confraternity of Santa Croce again for the school and the "chaplaincy", to which were added the sums from other confraternities for various religious or occasional services such as musical performances on the occasion of parties. However, the annual income was sufficient for a decent standard of living. A teacher taught grammar and rhetoric for a salary of seventy scudi a year. At the end of the century this school was located in Castel Nuovo, on the premises of the former monastery of Santa Maria Nuova, purchased by the community of Fratta. In 1700 the schoolmaster was Don Pietro Cardoni, from Nocera. He lived in the two rooms above the Santa Croce hospital that the brotherhood had reserved for him. The latter retained fifteen paoli a year from the salary she paid him for the rent: thirty paoli in all, that is, three scudi. As was customary at the time, the maestro also performed the "music service" for the company of Santa Croce. In early August 1719 Cardoni resigned. Don Matteo Silvestrini took over and the brotherhood also rents the rooms above the hospital to him. In 1725 the teacher is Don Pietro Burli. In the early months of 1730 the school teacher was a certain Fabbri, but in April he was replaced by Don Innocenzo Diamanti, for four years. Then the Abbot Giovan Battista Orlandini and Don Lorenzo Meuccio. From 1741 to 1750 the masters were Don Ubaldo Balducci, Don Gerolamo Passi, Don Francesco Tosoni, Don Gaspare Mazzaforti, Don Lorenzo Pellegrini, Don Modesto Spinetti. From 1750 we find don Arcangelo Mischianti (teacher of sacred theology is fra 'Francesco Maria Calindri, guardian of the convent of San Francesco), don Alessandro Dini born in Urbania, don Matteo Tosciliani, don Paolo Costantini, don Ubaldo Menghini, don Stefano Loretti, don Angelo Mavarelli, don Antonio Giuseppe Gnagneri, don Cristiani, don Giuseppe Angelini, the canon don Paolucci. In 1787 the school teacher was Don Ercolano Mavarelli. He took four scudi a four-month period. He is a canon of the collegiate church of San Giovanni. In 1789, Father Fulgenzio Maria, a minor of the observers of the convent of Santa Maria, born in Città di Castello, was the master. In 1790 there is the canon Pecchioli followed by Don Luca Brami. We then find Don Sebastiano Riccardi and Abbot Paolo Padoni. The teaching of music It could be public and private. The first was entrusted to the chapel masters and these, having graduated in music in some school, were called and paid by the various brotherhoods and religious congregations. Their dependence explains the term "di cappella", as the brotherhoods had their headquarters in a church where they owned a chapel with an altar dedicated to their protector. The major brotherhoods, of Santa Croce and San Bernardino, had their own teacher but he did not take a salary that would guarantee him economic security; for this he also carried out occasional work at other brotherhoods and churches, managing, among other things, to earn enough to live. In addition to public teaching, there was a private one. There was the custom of entrusting a young man, from early adolescence, to a teacher who undertook, for an annual fee, to teach him instrumental music and singing and, at times, also to read and write. The boy, however, had to leave his family and move to the house of the teacher, who became father-master, staying here for the established time, about ten years. All this was agreed through a notarial deed comprising many clauses. Sources: - Renato Codovini - “History of Umbertide - Volume VI - 18th century” - Unpublished typescript. - Calendar of Umbertide 2001 - Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2001 (Texts by Adriano Bottaccioli - Walter Rondoni - Amedeo Massetti - Fabio Mariotti). Illustrations by Adriano Bottaccioli. Harvesting of wheat by hand (Historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide) Peasant family (Historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide) Sul paiaio (Historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide) On the ox cart (Historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide) Calesse (Historical photographic archive of the Municipality of Umbertide) 1977. La Fornace (Giuseppe Severi Archive) 1975. Trace of a potter's oven in via Bovicelli (Giuseppe Severi Archive) Glimpse of Santa Croce Agricoltura, Commercio, Mestieri e Istruzione Le chiese minori di Fratta e i proietti La chiesa di Sant'Andrea di Castelvecchio Church of Sant'Andrea di Castelvecchio The ancient temple was located at the height of the current analysis laboratory in the old hospital of Umbertide The church, of very ancient origins dating back to the early twelfth century, stood in the Upper Borgo of Fratta, called Castelvecchio, right on the spot where the old hospital was built in 1870. It had a bell tower with two bells and several altars inside. One of these, dedicated to Santa Barbara, was built in 1735 (1). Despite the long life and the prestige it had held in the hearts of the faithful of Fratta, we know little of its characteristics. We do not know its shape and we are not able to know if it kept works of a certain value within it, which is possible given the long history of the temple. If we lack certain information on its origins and its structure, we have, on the other hand, detailed information on its end which coincided with that of the eighteenth century. The collapse, in fact, began much earlier, in the year 1751, when the parish priest, Archpriest Petrogalli, informed the Bishop of Gubbio that a part of the roof was collapsing and also the wall around the bell tower was about to do the same. The authorization for the "reduction" of the church arrived and as the collapses continued, it was further reduced to become a small chapel. In this capacity it was occasionally officiated for some time and later disappeared as the seat of the services of the cult. The "reduction" works were financed with the proceeds from the sale of the main bell (2) which also made it possible to embellish the altar of the church of San Giovanni Battista, where on 15 December 1752 the painting representing Sant'Andrea, painted by Benedetto Cavallucci of Perugia. Note: 1. See Umberto Pesci, History of Umbertide, Typography R. Fruttini di Gualdo Tadino, year 1932, p. 133 et seq. 2. Archpriest Petrogalli, with the Bishop's permission granted on 10 November 1751, had sold the main bell, weighing 220 pounds, to the Philippine Fathers of Montefalco for 38 scudi. Sources: "Umbertide in the XVIII century" by Renato Codovini and Roberto Sciurpa - Municipality of Umbertide - September 2003 THE MINOR CHURCHES OF FRATTA AND THE PROJECTS The minor churches The church of the Madonna del Moro was located just outside the Borgo Inferiore, in the center of a farm owned by the Savelli family, next to the farmer's house and a well. In 1746 the farm was sold to Bernardino Dell'Uomo with all the annexes and the small chapel followed the fate of the house and the fields. The instead, the small temple of the Madonna del Giglio was located near the Borgo Superiore, in a property of Donna Pellegrini Stella, widow of Giovan Francesco Paolucci. The lady contributed to the maintenance of the chapel with the sum of five scudi a year. On 16 September 1730 she made her will and ordered that, after her death, the heir, who was her nephew, Captain Giovan Tommaso Paolucci, should continue to pay the contribution. In the market area there was a small chapel, also called Chiesina del Boccaiolo , dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. The news comes from very few lines of a notarial deed (1) . The church, which we do not know precisely where it was, was enlarged by Marcantonio Stella who did not have it as a property, but was obliged to maintain it as well as to have one mass said a month and six masses on the 10th. December each year. In front of the church of Sant'Agostino, before entering the Piazza del Mercatale, on the left, stood the Monastery of Santa Maria Nuova with the chapel of Santa Lucia attached to it. When the Monastery was suppressed on July 21, 1787, it continued to be open to worship. It was also called the "church of the blacksmiths" because that corporation had obtained it for use by the Municipality, which in 1787 had become the owner of the entire former monastery. Towards the end of the century, in 1790, it underwent substantial maintenance work for an amount of 140 scudi advanced by Lorenzo Vibi. The intervention suggests that the chapel was still officiated. There is little news about the church of Calatola . It was located in the homonymous farm word, above the hill where the Bertanzi house stands (Villa Pace). The chapel almost certainly belonged to the same family. Church of Sant 'Agostino Shortly before entering Piazza del Mercatale (Piazza Marconi), to the right of whoever descends from Piaggiola, stood the convent of Sant'Agostino and the church of the same name, right in the center of Castelnuovo. The temple was regularly officiated by the Augustinian Fathers who had the responsibility and care of it; it housed several altars, including one dedicated to Sant'Antonio, and communicated with the premises of the convent in the west. Above the ceiling of the church there were two large rooms and on the north side, between the road to Montone and the apse, there was a vegetable garden cultivated by the friars. The church was a thriving center of religious life and faith as long as the Augustinians who were its soul remained there, but when they left Fratta, the church also took second place. The convent, in fact, was suppressed and in 1738 its property, which also included that of the church, passed to the Municipality. The Judiciary of Fratta, in the same year, asked the Bishop of Gubbio for authorization to sell the buildings adjacent to the church. The permission was granted especially since the transfer was destined to remain "in the parish" because the buyer was a priest, Don Silvestro Fanfani, who offered 110 scudi. It was a forced choice since the administrators needed cash to pay the salary of the school teacher, since for several years and after numerous attempts, they had not been able to rent those premises. The church, which showed signs of subsidence in the wall along the road, was the subject of a careful restoration with the construction of a sturdy support spur. Towards the middle of the century, therefore, it was still officiated and was entrusted to the Company of Death. Note: 1) The deed reads: "Remembrance of the faculty given by Mr. Giambattista Bartolelli from Città di Castello to the late Marcantonio Stella of this land to enlarge and expand the church of the Madonna SS.ma di Loreto in the Market. Deed of the notary Michelangelo Cenni di Gubbio , on 15 September 1690, without reserve of patronage ". The projectiles (foundlings) One of the many painful problems of the century, of the previous ones and also of the following one, was the plague of projectiles (or foundlings, or exposed). There were many, more than one can imagine, and in some cases, in addition to the doors of convents, churches and hospitals, where newborns were usually abandoned, revolving drums were also put into operation, communicating with some convent, to to deposit defenseless children, wrapped in poor clothes as best they can. Also in Fratta there was one (1) , near the “scortico”, in the inter portas square that led to the Tiber bridge. It was called "The wheel of the exposed". The painful phenomenon had deep social roots and did not bear the signs of the scarcity of the maternal sense. The mere thought of such a hypothesis would be an offense to feelings and history. The mother was certainly the first person to feel the agony of the dramatic detachment and to swallow drops of daily bitterness at the thought that the fruit of her breast would grow without affection and without caresses. But in a society such as the eighteenth century, in which infant mortality reached very high levels even in the most affluent families, and the darkest poverty gripped a large part of the population, the abandonment of one's creature to a destiny that was hoped to be generous with better assistance, paradoxically it could represent an act of love or, at the very least, an extra hope of survival. History hides, pitiful and discreet, a series of sufferings and dramas that have not touched the palaces of power, the only archives that an ancient and widespread historiographic theory has carefully consulted in its partial research. The Fratta projectiles were taken to Perugia, to the Misericordia hospital, which then sent them to Assisi, where Mons. Caracciolo, since 1739, had created a special hospice. The transport to Perugia, for the weak newborn, already represented a heap of hardships, especially in the winter period, but for the insiders it was a normal practice to be carried out, governed by a series of strict provisions, behaviors and remunerations. (25 baiocchi per trip, for the coachman). Several had to arrive in Perugia if the Prior of that city, on May 14, 1741, sent a recommendation to the Confraternity of Santa Croce which had asked for information on the matter. The letter was long, but we report the most pleasant part, to soften the tints of the drama: "In response from the highly esteemed Loro Loro around the reception and transfer of the Proietti from there to this Hospital of Perugia, there is no difficulty in bringing us those who were born in this Territory of Fratta to be this of the Territory of Perugia, only the diligence remains that they are not from another nearby Territory, or from Città di Castello, or from Gubbio, that these have their Hospitals and there is the order of Monsignor Caracciolo, as they will see to the notification sent to them, as well as being careful that they do not take legitimacy and comply in everything with those orders, to which the due penalties are imposed ". With all the good will it was difficult to establish the provenance and territorial belonging of the projectiles, and if we had some certainty about it, they would no longer be such. Those in charge of this sector did everything they could to entrust them to some local nurse who nursed them in the very first days of life, before making the journey to Perugia, but the death records are pitiless. In 1753 one of them was entrusted to the Briganti family of Polgeto: “Luigi dies, of an uncertain father and mother, ten days old, handed over to Veronica Briganti on January 21st”; "On February 18, 1753 Anna dies, of uncertain father and mother, handed over to Veronica Martinelli to nurse her on February 11"; "On May 9 Maria dies, of uncertain father and mother, handed over to Veronica Martinelli to breastfeed her". And the list goes on, but we prefer to stop here. Just to give an example, in the parish of Sant'Erasmo alone, in 1710, five were collected in front of the church door and six in 1720, to refer only to two years of a religious community that had 600 souls. Note: 1. There was also another one next to the convent of Santa Maria Nuova. The gardener who cultivates the adjacent garden testifies that it was visible until the end of the 1950s. Sources: "Umbertide in the XVIII century" by Renato Codovini and Roberto Sciurpa - Municipality of Umbertide, 2003 PROCUREMENT AND PUBLIC PROPERTIES Procurement Almost all of the taxes were contracted out to a debt collector through a regular competition. The obligation was introduced in 1729 by an Edict of Pope Benedict XIII which remained in force for a large part of the following century. The method used for the award was that of the "virgin candle" described in detail in another volume (1). Some contracts were extraordinary and remained in existence for the duration of the tax, as we have seen for the passage tax; others were fixed because the sector of activity subjected to the tax was permanent, such as that of supplies and some services, and were renewed every three years. They constituted the most reliable and most substantial income for the Municipality. All citizens duly informed by the notice of the announcement posted on the door of the Municipality and by the Balio tubatore could participate in the conduct of the race who, after scraping a few rings of tuba, read the main heads of the announcement through the streets of the castle and in the squares inter portas. In a council meeting of May 27, 1747 the contracts were discussed and thanks to it we were able to know not only which and how many there were, but also the amount that we wanted to obtain. We report them in the same order in which they were exhibited at that meeting: 1. Public Oven Contract 2. Tender for the Land Stamp 3. Procurement of the Carne Stamp 4. Public Slaughterhouse Contract 5. Procurement of the Damage Given 6. Contract of the Salara 7. Oil shop contract 8. Procurement of Measures 9. Procurement of Wood 10. Contract of the Stabbio 11. Procurement of the Foietta 12. Cenciaria contract 13. Tiber Wood Contract. Procurement of the oven The public oven belonged to the Municipality which did not manage it directly, but gave it to contract. In truth, in some short periods of the century, for reasons that escape us, the system of direct management was adopted. We can only exclude that they were of an economic nature, since the average annual gain obtained with self-management was about 40 scudi, while the contract yielded 90. Self-management lost 50 net scudi, to which they were owed add all the management hassles and worries. The contractor, in fact, in addition to the bread making was forced to provide for the purchase of the grain, its grinding; to the wood for the oven, all at his expense, and finally to the bread trade. It was a job that took a lot, especially in an era when there were still no electric ovens, special yeasts and various types of flour already packaged. The frequent change of management of the oven, moreover, indicates that the profit margins were not flattering. In 1710 the contract, always three years, was in the hands of a certain Pietro Antonio Marcellini who had inherited it from Ercolano Fanfani and Giovanni Antonio Agostini. The most lasting management was the one that goes from 1770 to 1781 held by Giovanni Antonio Agostini, perhaps a descendant of the manager we met at the beginning of the century. In the five-year period 1787/1791 the Municipality almost certainly managed it on its own with the results we have illustrated. In the following year the contract was won by Ubaldo Perugini. Towards the end of the century, in 1793, there was an attempt at competition by the Count of Civitella who was determined to open a bakery on the border of his county with the territory of the Municipality of Fratta, right at the point where today Viale Unità d ' Italia intersects with Via Roma, in the place then called Case Nuove. Giuseppe Palchetti had to manage it. The new exercise would have represented a serious blow to the public oven because Civitella did not apply duties to the activities inside its territory. The matter was resolved haphazardly in a meeting between the Count and the First Prior, at the end of which it was decided that things would remain as before. Procurement of the land stamp Even in those days whoever temporarily occupied the public land had to pay a tax to the Municipality. The most typical and recurrent case was that of the itinerant trade. As usual, the Camerlengo did not directly collect the sum and the entire sector was given out on a three-year contract to the highest bidder. In the middle of the century the contract yielded 38 scudi a year. Procurement of the meat and slaughterhouse stamp All the beasts had to be "skinned" at the slaughterhouse. The skins were then left to dry in the sun and the meat, cut into pieces, was subjected to the stamp by the "Bollatore delle Carni". The stamp was a guarantee of safety for the consumer and also of quality among the various types of meat (ox, cow, veal, sheep, mutton, pork, etc.), but above all a tax expedient. The Bollatore was the one who had won the three-year tender and not a veterinarian. Its only role was to withdraw the stamp duties from the butchers and to pay the Municipality an annual fee that was between 30 and 140 scudi per year. The slaughterhouse was also subject to the same regime. This is obviously the public slaughterhouse that the Municipality kept open for calming purposes, while the private butcher had fulfilled his obligation with the payment of the stamp on the meat. The management of the public slaughterhouse was subject to the normal procurement procedure and the winner undertook to pay a fee that averaged around 35 scudi per year (2). In addition to being a contract, the relationship could be configured as a "slaughterhouse rental", but the rules and procedures followed were those of contracts and not those of leases. Since they had to carry out the control function, the prices were agreed with the Municipality. Castrato, for example, had to be sold for 4 baiocchi (twenty quattrini) a pound, but from the first Sunday of Lent until the feast of St. John (24 June) it had to be sold for 21 quattrini a pound. Cow, sheep and goat meat sold for 12 quattrini a pound. The regulation of the contract of 1782 required that during the Christmas holidays all meat had to undergo a reduction, in line with the "social" function that the public slaughterhouse performed. Contract for the damage given and the deposit of the pawns The contractor was responsible for the surveillance and protection of public, movable and immovable property. When they were damaged ("damage given"), his task was to report the person responsible to the Commissioner Judge and to collect the compensation established, if the dispute had not been settled by amicable means. Part of the sum (usually a third) was due to him and the other part was paid into the coffers of the Municipality. It was a type of contract whose revenue was unpredictable and for this reason it was entrusted to the same contractor as the Depositeria dei Pegni, or Monte dei Pegni, as it was more commonly called. Debtors who could not meet their financial obligations often resorted to them, in the absence of the banks, to deposit an object of value and receive a sum in cash. At the set deadline, the depositary withdrew the pledge by paying the amount received with the interest and deposit rights. If this did not happen, as it often did, the pledge remained the property of the contractor who arranged for the sale and withheld the proceeds. The contractor had to have a fair amount of cash to secure the loans and had to be a skilled trader to make the valuation of the assets deposited. The contract paid the Municipality 6 scudi per year approximately. Contract for the salary, oil shop and grocery store Salt was a kind of monopoly in the Papal State and the sales regime was subject to government regulations. The purchase had to take place in the official "Salara", which for the Fratta Community was that of Perugia, or of Fossombrone, Iesi, Fabriano or Ancona, if it did not have one. The amount of the withdrawal was fixed at 36,000 pounds per year, and the local salary was also to serve the municipalities of Preggio, “Castelrigone”, the Badia di Monte Corona, “Pier Antonio” and Pian di Ronzano. For retail outlets, the usual procurement system was used, which in this specific case had a duration of two years, and the "Minister of the Salara", as the contractor was also called (3), had the strict obligation to cover the entire needs of the territory under its jurisdiction, since salt is an indispensable element of very large consumption. With the “Salara”, but in separate tenders, the oil shop and the grocery store were also contracted out. In the first, edible oil was sold and in the second, cured meats, lard and lard, salted meats and cheese. The prices of the products were set by the Defenders and had to be clearly visible on a sign posted in the shop. While we do not know how much the Community earned with the salt contract, the oil shop and the grocery store yielded 20 scudi a year (8 scudi for oil and 12 for other products). Procurement of weight measurements The possibility of weighing quantities of goods over 50 pounds was an exclusive prerogative that belonged to the Nobile Collegio del Cambio of Perugia, which held the monopoly right in this sector. Not being able to exercise it directly, the Noble College contracted it out to the various communities and these, in turn, to a local contractor through the usual tender procedure. "The large steelyard", as the scale was called, was considered a "public weigher" and the receipt issued attested not only the payment of the rights, but also the exact weight of the goods, to be asserted in court in case of disputes. The large steelyard belonged to the Municipality, which had to comply with all the provisions issued by the Collegio del Cambio and the Congregation of the Good Government (CBG) of Perugia. Even private individuals could equip themselves with a similar instrument, which had to be "stamped" by the contractor, that is, subjected to the control and payment of a tax, and was not valid in the event of a dispute, nor could it be lent to others, under penalty of seizure of the "steelyard". Weights under 50 pounds were carried out in all the shops of the time and in private homes, but the scales, in addition to the stamp duty, were subjected to bi-monthly checks. Other contracts Anyone wishing to bring firewood into the village had to pay a tax to the contractor as a "right of entry". The parcels were different in relation to the type of transport that could take place “a some”, that is, on the back of a donkey or mule, or in larger quantities of wagons. Payment in kind was also envisaged with the deposit of a piece of wood next to the entrance door to the castle. Generally the wood came from the cutting of the woods, but there was - also the “del Ponte” one, that is all the trunks that the floods of the Tiber piled up close to the pylons of the bridge. All this material that formed a kind of dam, with a lot of practical sense and foresight, was removed and sold on a systematic basis. Most of the time the contractor was unique, but the " wood of the Bridge " could have a different one from the official one. The streets of the town were haunted by the passage of beasts which, not being angels, deposited their excrements along the way, without much modesty. In an economic system in which nothing was thrown away and everything was recycled, even the “pen” was a useful material. The Municipality contracted out the collection and sale to the highest bidder who, in addition to making a profit, kept the streets of the town clean. The same thing happened with the rags whose collection was contracted out (contract by the cenciaria). The rags then ended up in Fabriano, where a thriving processing industry had existed since then. The pleasure of the "drop" of wine seems to have ancient origins and even goes back to Noah. For the taxman there could not have been a better opportunity. Thus the innkeepers and innkeepers who sold the wine by the minute had to pay the “foietta” tax. Even fishing, in the stretch of the river along the walls, did not escape the tax burden and the fishermen had to pay a kind of "license" to the contractor on duty. These latter contracts did not represent large revenues for the Community. The tax on the fishing license, for example, paid the municipality a shield a year. We do not know about the others, but we are inclined to believe that municipal finances could not be raised with rags, stabbing and wood. Various revenue A few more shields entered the anemic municipal coffers through the leasing of land, of the Shiites, of the houses and shops of public property, but it was very little. The sale of the crushed stone of the Tiber, the foliage of the poplars ( albaroni ), of the willows, of the elms and above all of the morigelsi, planted along the roads and the banks of the waterways, also gave some shields. The breeding of silkworms was widely practiced, even in small quantities in common houses, not to mention the massive production of maggots that were found in the area. The recycled materials of the renovated public properties were also sold, such as bricks, beams, tiles and bent tiles. The Rocca enjoyed direct financing from Perugia of 45 scudi a year, intended for the maintenance costs of the building and the entire complex of the castle walls . There were also chancellery rights at that time and those who needed declarations, certifications or copies of deeds were subjected to the payment of the expected fee. In any case, the proceeds deriving from the various items of income were very often not sufficient to cover the expenses of the Community and recourse to the loan was a constant practice even in those times. As there were no public credit institutions, private individuals were used, which were mostly religious communities. The loan was always guaranteed with the stipulation of a written deed, often with the endorsement of a guarantor and sometimes also with the deposit of a pledge by the guarantor himself. It happened that the Municipality had credits to collect, but they did not constitute an additional income, but the recovery of taxes not paid at the time by the defaulting taxpayer. Public properties In the century in question, the concept of "inventory" did not exist and therefore we do not have a detailed list of municipal property. From the various documents examined, however, it can be deduced that the patrimonial situation of the Municipality was approximately the following: L. Since 1725 there was a community of Monte Acuto with land on the coast of San Giovanni. We do not know for sure what the relationship between the Comunanza and the Municipality of Fratta was, but it is possible that it was a municipal property sold for use to farmers in the area. 2. In 1738 the Municipality became the owner of the church, the building, the gardens and the farm of the former convent of Sant'Agostino. The farm word “ Sant'Agostino ” had an area of 18 mines and three tables; farmhouse, cellar, barn and oven. The rent paid the Municipality 10 scudi a year paid in "two pays", that is, in two half-yearly installments. 3. In 1766 the Municipality owned the "shop of the bridge" which was located in the south-west bastion, that is in the small inter portas square near the bridge over the Tiber. It was rented to Silvestro Somigli with land under the public oven. 4. All the shiites under the castle walls were municipal property and also the environments in which commercial activities of public utility were carried out: oven, salary, flaying. 5. The seat of the municipal residence belonged to the Municipality, namely the Palazzo in the Rocca square and, subsequently, the former Convent of Santa Maria Nuova. 6. A house located in via San Giovanni di Bartolomeo Petrogalli was purchased by the Municipality in 1780. 7. Some registrations of 1798 certify that the following assets are sources of income for the Municipality, and therefore owned by it: • a vegetable garden attached to the municipal house; • a cellar under the municipal house; • a vegetable garden above the castle walls and under the Bruni house; • a vegetable garden in the word Porta Nova; • two pieces of land under the fortress; • two pieces of land at Boccaiolo, under the castle walls; • a shop known as the "old slaughterhouse"; • a large number of mori-mulberry trees on the municipal skies. Note: 1. For the same reason, Montone had to pay 2,500 scudi (Ascani A., Storia di Montone). The news is interesting because it can be deduced that at that time the territory of Fratta was smaller than that of Montone. 2. For the sake of completeness, we report the names of the contractors that result from the records in the Archives: 1774/76 Angelo Mavarelli, 1776 Angelo Nardi from Fiesole, 1779 Gismondo Contadini. 3. In 1745 the contractor was Mattia Degli Arrighi. After him the post was taken on by Bernardino Dell'Uomo. Sources: "Umbertide in the XVIII century" by Renato Codovini and Roberto Sciurpa - Municipality of Umbertide, 2003 Gli appalti e le proprietà pubbliche THE TIBER, THE BRIDGES, THE CASTLE WALLS Work on the area after the bridge The Tiber, silent and lazy, in some circumstances also knew how to be noisy and violent, so much so that, over the course of the century, it caused considerable damage to the banks and the castle walls. The banks along the Montalto area were the hardest hit, in particular the right one where the road to Città di Castello passed. The biggest damage occurred in 1760 when a brick kiln belonging to Count Degli Oddi, then owner of the castle of Montalto, and a long stretch of road were swept away by the current. "The city of Perugia, with the assistance of Mr. Domenico Tickets, factor of the castellano Degli Oddi, made a new road and built a double brush in the place of corrosion ..." But the most dangerous damage occurred to the north and south of the Fratta bridge, right along the castle walls. The river bed then followed a slightly different path, and upstream of the bridge, due to the erosions accumulated over time, the Tiber described a wide loop between the fields, moving away from the primitive route parallel to the road that corresponds to the current one. The current of the waters coming from the north direction rushed through the area of the bridge and threatened to dig an autonomous path, cutting the road and bypassing it on the right bank of the river. In 1758 the erosion reached only fifteen meters from the route of the via tifernate and the risk seemed to materialize with the breakthrough downstream. Fortunately, the phenomenon stopped, otherwise serious troubles would have been produced: the weakened castle defenses, the dry bridge, the compromised weir and large expenses for the adaptation of urban infrastructures to the new route (mills, public wash house, gardens and sewer system ). Therefore, a serious reorganization of the banks was urgent and the first systematic interventions began in 1753. In that year, the Sacred Congregation of the Waters of Perugia sent the engineer Antonio Felice Facci to Val di Chiana, then a marshy area, to carry out no better specified remarks. And since the Fratta was along the route, the technician was also in charge of examining the state of the banks of the Tiber around the castle. On the outward journey he stopped for two days, taking lodging at the Staffa tavern (1) at the expense of the Municipality; on his return trip, on February 17, 1753, he stopped again for three days, always in the same inn and always at the expense of the Municipality. We do not know the report that the engineer presented to the competent Authorities, but something concrete certainly suggested, if at the beginning of 1754 the first expense reports for works of a certain consistency appearing on the right bank of the Tiber, north of the bridge. . The trick used was to reinforce the bank with a palisade of large beams embedded in the ground and connected by thick planks behind which stones and bundles of glass were stowed. The "club" was also ingeniously built to drive the beams into the ground. It consisted of a castle of wooden planks from which a heavy oak trunk was lowered, shod at the edges, which hit the head of the pole. After each stroke the log was hoisted up again by six workers who pulled a sturdy rope wrapped in a pulley and the strokes were repeated until the desired depths were reached. All the timber was supplied by the Camaldolese of Monte Corona. The costs of the works, including technicians' fees, travel and reimbursement of expenses, reached high levels and in 1755 provisional tolls were imposed on every animated being who crossed the bridge. The table of tax levies has come down to us and we are reporting it for information for our readers. Surprisingly, they also paid the people at a rate equivalent to pigs, for reasons of weight and nothing else. People, 3 cash per person per day Beast unloads, cash 6 Charged beast, money 12 Horse-drawn carriage or wagon, baiocchi 4 Pigs, 3 bucks each Sheep, castrated and goats, 2 money each Vaccine, money 6 each In the same year there were important visits. The engineer of the Municipality of Perugia, Pietro Carattoli, the engineer of the Sacred Congregation of Waters, Antonio Felice Facci and a Jesuit, certain Father Ippolito, came to "recognize the state of erosion, draw up the map of the place and check the works". Syrians. The works continued uninterrupted throughout the year and beyond, so much so that on June 22, 1756 another inspection arrived, that of Don Pietro Tassinari. The monsignor left, on 10 July the Tiber organized another ruinous flood which, in addition to damaging the sheltered banks, took away a good quantity of planks stowed in the yard, later recovered in Ponte Felcino. The flood in July made it clear that the defense of the banks alone was not enough to prevent damage and around the sick area the commitment of the administration and technicians for more radical solutions intensified, with surprising timeliness. In March 1758, the engineer of the Municipality of Perugia, Pietro Carattoli, came back to Fratta and drew a new plan of the area in which the construction of an artificial canal was planned to bring the river back to its original layout, parallel to the road, so that close to the city walls it made a bend of 90 ° sufficient to harness the violence of the floods. The works began immediately in May and were almost finished by the end of June (2) . The work gave the desired effect: not only did it lighten the places from the damage of erosion, but the river immediately began to flow in a stable and definitive way in that riverbed which is still its natural bed today. Other floods occurred in 1773 and 1778 which threatened the Tifernate road and the Cistercian mill, but the works carried out considerably limited the damage. The use of manpower was massive and also involved women. Their task was to find the stones to be placed inside the "baskets", a kind of wicker containers, which were used by the workers in charge of sheltering the banks to stabilize the river embankments. The papers tell us that they were 19 and they received six baiocchi a day, almost as much as men. There was also a large group of woodcutters to saw the beams and boards, a team of cable workers to work the hemp and weave the ropes and ribs (sturdy bands of canvas), a handful of men who took care of the poles and these, in all likelihood, they must have been the workers at the poles of the castle of the mace, and a series of other figures of workers and artisans such as carters, masons, shovellers, etc. The most urgent and imposing works for the arrangement of the banks and to avoid damage to the castle were certainly those to the north of the bridge, but the intervention to the south was also necessary and in this sense, since 1752 (3 ), repeated requests were made which had no effect. In 1758, once the work to the north was completed, the pushes began again to fix the stretch of river from the bridge to the Schioppe, the cliff that was then also called "Punta della Genga" (4) . The practice went on very slowly due to evident contrasts between the Municipality, the frontists and the Perugian authorities who had to grant authorization to proceed, as well as an economic contribution. Since 1757 the three frontists - the friars of the convent of San Francesco, the Paolucci family and Count Ranieri di Civitella - had taken steps on their own to stem the banks along their properties. They were even willing to intervene on their own even in the most critical point of the situation, that is, at the mouth of the Palace into the Tiber, with the construction of a masonry "spur" or "guardian". The Municipality, although not very convinced of the solution, agreed because "you don't look a gift horse in the mouth", but Perugia rejected the proposal because it would have worsened the situation. On the contrary, the Sacred Congregation of Waters also contested the works of arrangement of the banks already carried out, inviting the frontists to demolish them. The result was a technical-juridical controversy which lasted for years and which had the sole result of paralyzing every initiative until 1789, when hostilities resumed. This time the experts came forward. The Municipality of Fratta, the city of Perugia and the Camaldolese friars (owners of the land on the right bank of the Tiber) chose Pietro Casimiro Fagliuoli as their expert; the convent of San Francesco, Paolucci and Count Ranieri commissioned the archpriest Don Bartolomeo Borghi, a great expert on the subject. But even the experts did not find an agreement and decided to resort to the arbitration of a well-known professional, a certain Virgilio Bracci, architect and engineer of the Sacred Congregation of the Good Government of Rome, who in those days was in Perugia. The meeting "in spite of the place" took place on 25 October 1789, in the presence of the archpriest Borghi and the abbot Luigi Pacini representing Fagliuoli. After two days of discussions, the dispute ended at the table with the lunch offered by the Camaldolese and a transaction was signed. It was a platonic agreement only because the commitments were never honored. Only two years later, the signed pacts were resumed with the decision to build at the mouth of the Reggia that triangular spur that the wise frontists had already designed in 1757. But when the work began, the Congregation of Waters of Perugia, still allergic to spurs, made it known that it did not intend to participate in the costs as it was due only to the frontists. One thing finally became clear: if the agreed works were to be carried out, the three owners had to bear all the expenses and the engineer Cristoforo Bartoli was promptly sent from Perugia to establish the boundaries of the land and share the shares. The bridges La Fratta was a fortress completely surrounded by water and the bridges were the only means of connection and communication with the surrounding area. Not only that, but since the surrounding countryside is crossed by the Tiber, the Royal Palace and the Carpina, other crossing systems were necessary to join the banks of the waterways and allow greater ease of movement and traffic in the fertile plain that it crossed. the valley. In some cases, considering the costs of a bridge, we relied on the ferry boats, but the Fratta was quite lucky and, in its immediate vicinity, had safe and stable tolls in masonry or wood. The bridge over the Tiber was a masterpiece of engineering, technique and aesthetic taste. It rested on three arches, which constitute the coat of arms of the Municipality of Umbertide and, even after the demolition of the drawbridge of the Porta Saracina, it had not lost its beauty and grandeur. Two sturdy doors guarded its entrances and the small church of Carmelo, located above the central pillar of the valley, invited peace and prayer when the road was all slower. The year of its construction is to be found between 1571 and 1588, at the will of the "Company of the Madonna della Reggia and Madonna del Ponte", entrepreneur of the two aforementioned sites (5) . Another bridge, the one over the Reggia stream in front of the Collegiate Church, played an important role in the town's economy. It connected Montone, the entire plain below and the Borgo Superiore with the center of Fratta and was also open to heavy traffic of animals and wagons. Its structural conditions were precarious because it was all made of wood with the exception of the two masonry heads on which the beams rested. The passage presented some difficulties because the bridge was narrow and without banks and on several occasions the Reggia had the bad taste of giving a few pieces to the Tiber. The spending resolutions for the restoration work were recurring, so much so that on April 4, 1770 the City Council decided to build it from scratch. The work was entrusted to Giovanni Tomassini, a Swiss from Lugano who lived in Gubbio, for a hundred baiocchi. The entrepreneur was known to Fratta because the previous year he had renovated the facade and the interior of the church of San Bernardino to the satisfaction of those who had commissioned the work. The new, wider bridge had sturdy sides and was suitable for carrying greater loads. It offered all the prerequisites of comfort, stability and safety. In the last years of the century the Judiciary of Fratta launched the project for the construction of a second bridge over the Reggia, the one that was to connect the center of the town with the Collegiate Church through a nave of the church of San Giovanni. The bridge will be built in 1807, but the first projects and intervention plans date back to 1794. In the surroundings, then, there were secondary but equally important bridges, such as the bridge over the ditch of Lazzaro and the one over the Fonte Santa. The latter, completely rebuilt in 1799. Further north, on the Montonese road, there was an ancient bridge over the Carpina built since 1294. To these bridges outside the castle must be added those that directly linked the area within the walls with the outside, such as the Piaggiola bridge, which allowed to cross the moat and access the Porta della Campana, and the bridge over the Reggia which allowed access to the Borgo Inferiore (Piazza San Francesco area). The Rocca had a drawbridge that descended over the Reggia and put it in communication with the lawn in front of it. In 1787 it still existed and was used. A note dated 3 September, signed by the Municipal Secretary Giambattista Burelli, stated: “Mr. dr. Giuseppe Paolucci Camerlengo to pay Angelo Gigli paoli four for refurbishment of the drawbridge of the Rocca, which with receipt are forty baiocchi ”. The walls of the Castle The most natural and spontaneous defense system among the ancients was to surround the castle, the village or the city with a robust wall. Sometimes ditches filled with water, palisades or other similar devices were also used in order to curb the impetus of the enemies and immobilize them in front of the obstacle in order to hit them with greater ease and precision from above. The walls therefore were born with the first urban settlements and have developed and strengthened with them, following their historical evolution. On more than one occasion, particularly in large cities, their successive and concentric walls are evident documents of population growth and urban sprawl. The castle of Fratta had only one wall of walls, robust and compact and nature had also endowed it with the natural defense of the water of the Tiber river and the Reggia stream in the area of its confluence with the older brother. Its inhabitants had built an artificial moat in the short stretch free from water, making the castle a fortified islet, with stone edges, among the safest in the area for very long centuries. The maintenance and repair of the city walls was always a meticulous commitment for the inhabitants and administrators of all times, well aware that it was a priority asset, essential for the survival of the community. For the Fratta the part most exposed to the wear and tear of the corrosive pressure of the waters was the stretch along the course of the Tiber. On several occasions it had suffered damage and had recourse to repairs, but the flood of 1736 was particularly devastating. He dragged out 1,600 square feet of walls and four houses that stood on them. The appraisal, immediately prepared for the repair of the damage, established the total amount of expenses at 1,032 scudi. It was a high figure that the local community, alone, could not have met and the Pope was turned to for the granting of an extraordinary contribution. Clement XII declared himself willing to provide 500 scudi on condition that the other 532 provided the inhabitants. And so it was. Having found the money, the reconstruction machine started with the purchase of the necessary material and the preparation of the construction site. The contract for the work fell to Bartolomeo Ferrati of Rome (6) and the direction was entrusted to Cesare Francesconi della Fratta. The excavation of the foundations began on 15 September 1739. Some financing problems arose immediately because at the end of the year the Pope had not yet granted the promised contribution. The Defenders of Fratta approached the representative of the community in Rome, a certain Mariotti, to act as intermediary for the handling of the file. We do not know if the choice was happy, the fact is that Mariotti made it known that "... the Pope was in a very bad state and almost sent to the doctors", taking care to add that if he died it would be more difficult to get the contribution and advised to get busy quickly, as if in the Roman Curia there were no offices in charge of dealing with the commitments undertaken, regardless of the Pope's health. Mariotti certainly did not have those "entrances" that his fellow citizens attributed to him and for which they paid him and he suggested asking others what they had rightly asked of him. It often happens that when you need a favor, the person you are addressing, instead of giving us a hand, submerges us under a heap of thoughtful advice, thankfully free. One thing, however, got it right: Clement XII died on February 16, 1740. A few years later, Mariotti was replaced by Giacomo Guadagni, a more authoritative and introduced Abbot who moved with greater agility in the offices of the Quirinale. The papers do not tell us what happened to the Pope's contribution that certainly arrived, otherwise we would have found traces of increased taxes in subsequent years and also on the reconstructed walls a plaque was affixed with the inscription "Clement XII - Pontiff Maximus - MDCCXXXIX" ( 1739) which testifies to a direct economic intervention by the Pope. The building intervention gave stability and safety to our walls precisely in that stretch where the thrust of the current was greatest, at the beginning of the sudden swerve of about ninety degrees that the Tiber makes before passing under the bridge. The abrupt change of direction makes us guess the nature of the ground below at that point. The castle of Fratta rises on a resistant conglomerate base that forces the Tiber to deviate its course in an almost unnatural way. Its consistency, as well as ensuring stability to the urban center and its walls, protects the buildings and their basements from the infiltration of humidity typical of the most permeable soils. The notarial deeds relating to the sale of properties located along the walls describe in a precise manner their characteristics and the neighboring strip of land. All the houses with the front in Via Diritta, in the rear part, bordered the fence, the municipal skids and the walls. The fence was not attached to the houses, but was separated from them for logistical reasons. Between it and the back of the houses ran a strip of land that formed a street or path. Later, in the west of the castle, the path will become Via delle Petresche and then Via Spunta. The space between the fence and the walls constituted, on the other hand, the "municipal shito", publicly owned which, in the distant past, was used for military defense purposes. At the beginning of the century, however, construction began on this area, reaching as far as the walls. The four houses that the flood of 1736 demolished are clear proof of this. The following graph reconstructs the characteristics of the castle walls. The design was made on the basis of what the notary Filippo Maria Savelli, della Fratta affirms, on 12 March 1768 in his notarial deed relating to the sale of a house. Note: 1. It is the only reference we have about the existence of this inn. In all likelihood it is the one that will be managed by Romitelli in the following century. 2. In a letter dated June 24, 1758 it is said: "... the work of the new cut is carried out almost to an excellent end". 3. Between 1752 and 1758 five reminder letters were written which can be found in the Augusta Library in Perugia among the "papers of Pietro Giacomo Mariotti". 4. The genga is a limestone rock for which the expression is scientifically more correct than others to indicate a cliff. It is used in the report of the engineer Cristoforo Bartoli of 1791 and in a notarial deed of the notary Giovan Battista Burelli, also of 1791. 5. In 1571 the Depositary of the “Company of the Madonna della Reggia (see the book Revenue and Expenses 1565/1571) and of the Madonna del Ponte” paid for some materials taken to accommodate (prepare) the pylon on which the church will have to support. In the year 1588, another recording tells us that a painting already existing in the Majesty which was at the beginning of the bridge is brought to the said Chapel. On that day the Confessor reminds us that the Chapel was not yet finished. In fact, it does not appear even in the drawing by Piccolpasso, dated 1565. 6. The Roman master mason came with a team made up of two masons and two unskilled workers (apprentices). He perceived in all (daily) paoli 14.50 (equivalent to scudi 1.45, i.e. baiocchi 145) divided by him as follows: baj 75 for him, baj 25 for each bricklayer and baj 10 for each boy, for a daily total of 145 baiocchi. Sources: "Umbertide in the XVIII century" by Renato Codovini and Roberto Sciurpa - Municipality of Umbertide - Gesp, 2003 Il Tevere, i ponti, le mura del Castello IL SISTEMA ELETTORALE COMUNALE Al centro della vita democratica del tempo c'era un bussolotto che faceva girare le palle. Di esso abbiamo ampiamente parlato in un altro volume, al quale rimandiamo il lettore per evitare di ripeterci. Qui esporremo solo le procedure tipiche dell'epoca, avvertendo che quanto diremo è il resoconto del rinnovo del Bussolo del 17 luglio 1783: "Rinnovare il Bussolo" era sinonimo di "predisporre la lista virtuale" di coloro che avrebbero dovuto amministrare il pubblico bene per i due anni successivi. Alla fine di ogni biennio esso veniva "rinnovato", inserendo nella cavità delle palle di legno poste al suo interno, un foglietto con i nominativi degli uomini destinati all'incarico. Non si trattava di eleggere solo i Difensori, che duravano in carica quattro mesi, ma anche i Consultori della Sanità, un triumvirato del primo Ceto con incarico biennale; i Sindacatori (Sindaci Revisori), una coppia con incarico annuale; i Terminatori e Stimatori (Quasi sicuramente si trattava di persone esperte nei confini catastali e nelle valutazioni dei beni mobili e immobili. Dopo la metà del secolo lentamente scompaiono), un'altra coppia con incarico biennale; i Portinari, due custodi, uno per la porta sud e l'altro per la porta del Mercato, che restavano in carica due anni; i Sindaci, una coppia con incarico annuale. Per questo motivo le palle, tutte uguali nelle dimensioni, erano contraddistinte da un'etichetta che indicava la categoria dei nomi contenuti: "Difensori, "Sindaci", "Portinari", ecc. per essere individuate al momento del sorteggio. Ma seguiamo da vicino il rinnovo del Bussolo del 17 luglio 1783 per avere un'idea diretta e precisa della procedura adottata. Si doveva, prima di tutto, rinnovare la Magistratura, ossia i Difensori, la carica più importante, che aveva una durata quadrimestrale e gli Imbussolatori avevano perciò a disposizione sei palle, entro ognuna delle quali dovevano inserire il biglietto con una quaterna di nomi. Ogni Ceto o "Sfera" indicava i suoi. Dei quattro, uno doveva appartenere al primo Ceto, ed era di diritto Capo di Magistrato, gli altri tre al secondo. Nella prima votazione furono indicati: Giuseppe Paolucci, Vincenzo Martinelli, Mattia Massi ed Angelo Gigli. Questa quaterna, di cui Paolucci del primo Ceto sarebbe stato il Capo, fu scritta in un foglietto, chiusa dentro la palla contrassegnata con l'etichetta "Difensori" e imbussolata. A questi signori, quattro mesi di governo cittadino da scontare quando sarebbero stati estratti, non li toglieva nessuno. Si passò alla seconda quaterna seguendo la stessa procedura e furono indicati: Angelo Cristiani, Giovan Battista Guerrini, Giovanni Montanucci e Silvestro Martinelli. La terza quaterna dette il seguente esito: Giuseppe Bertanzi, Angelo Ciangottini, Filippo Legnetti e Vincenzo Iotti. Man mano che veniva definita una quaterna, e dopo aver compiuto le operazioni di rito, si imbussolava la palla. A questo punto il Bussolo conteneva già tre palle. La quarta votazione dette il seguente risultato: Giuseppe Cerboncelli, Vittorio Ceccarelli, Pietro Crosti e Maurizio Pucci. La quinta votazione sentenziò: Giovan Battista Burchi, Lorenzo Gigli, Ubaldo Perugini e Pietro Bruni. La sesta e ultima votazione indicò: Giovan Maria Criacci, Gabriele Dell'Uomo, Donino Passalbuoni e Antonio Martinelli. Ora nel Bussolo si trovavano tutte e sei le palle dei Difensori e ogni quadrimestre ne sarebbe stata estratta una che conteneva i quattro componenti della "Giunta" cui spettava la guida del Comune. Si passò alla designazione dei tre Conservatori della Sanità, tutti possidenti appartenenti al primo Ceto, che dovendo restare in carica due anni, come il Bussolo, non vennero imbussolati. Lo stesso criterio fu usato per i tre Terminatori e Stimatori e per i due Portinari. Le due coppie di Sindicatori, con incarico annuale, furono nominate, scritte sul foglietto, chiuse nella palla e imbussolate. A questo punto nel Bussolo c'erano otto palle che diventarono dieci con le due coppie di Sindaci. Le operazioni erano terminate ed il Bussolo, completamente rinnovato, conteneva dieci palle. Al suo interno fu inserito anche il foglio degli "Spicciolati", una lista di riserva, divisa per ceti, da usare nel caso in cui, al momento dell'estrazione della palla, uno dei nomi ivi compresi non fosse più in grado di accettare l'incarico o perché malato o passato a miglior vita. Le elezioni erano finite e per due anni tutti i principali ruoli del governo cittadino erano assicurati dentro le palle. Riflessioni "elettorali" I metodi con cui venivano scelti gli amministratori e gli altri titolari di incarichi importanti nella Fratta del 1700 non sono nemmeno lontani parenti del sistema elettivo attuale. Ci siamo espressi con termini quali "elezione" e "sistema elettorale" solo per usare un linguaggio di uso comune e perciò comprensibile a tutti. Non sarà sfuggito ai nostri lettori che non esiste il minimo accenno alla procedura con cui veniva eletto il Consiglio Comunale Generale. L’accenno non c'è, perché non l'abbiamo trovato. Ma si può ragionevolmente affermare che quel Consiglio fosse l'espressione delle indicazioni assembleari dei due Ceti, riuniti separatamente, come avverrà nel secolo successivo. Non si hanno notizie nemmeno circa la sua durata e il rapporto distributivo dei Consiglieri tra i due Ceti, ma è legittimo sostenere che esso durasse quattro anni e che i membri del secondo Ceto fossero in misura doppia di quelli del primo, come nel secolo successivo. Anche la proporzione tra i Difensori legittima un'ipotesi simile. Del resto in un sistema politico immobile, come quello dello Stato Pontificio, in cui il precedente costituiva prassi duratura per il futuro, non è da escludere che i meccanismi in vigore agli inizi del secolo XIX fossero gli stessi del secolo precedente. L’avvicendamento avveniva quasi certamente con sostituzioni di aliquote quadrimestrali, in modo che al termine della legislatura il Consiglio fosse completamente rinnovato. Pur nei limiti di una rappresentanza ristretta, il sistema era ingegnoso e finalizzato ad assicurare continuità e stabilità all'amministrazione del territorio. Le notizie sugli organi di rappresentanza sono comunque pochissime. Dati i tempi, era infatti superfluo trattare un argomento che si giocavano tra loro solo una ventina di famiglie. Il paragrafo precedente dedica un ampio spazio al resoconto della riunione consiliare del 17 luglio 1783, che si occupò del rinnovo del Bussolo. È una delle rare occasioni in cui il secolo, avaro di notizie politiche, diventa generoso. Prima ancora, i1 20 ottobre del 1743, ci fu un'altra importante riunione consiliare che offre molti spunti di riflessione. Il rinnovo del Bussolo, nella sua disarmante trasparenza e semplicità, dovrebbe aver creato non pochi problemi, litigi laceranti e destabilizzanti ricorsi. Si viveva, insomma, in un clima di incertezze e di sospetti anche perché, in assenza di una normativa precisa, ci si rifaceva alle usanze e alle disposizioni precedenti. Le une e le altre venivano invocate, quando faceva comodo, dai personaggi più abili e interessati. Le cose stavano arrivando ad un punto di non ritorno e nella riunione dell'ottobre 1743, il Consiglio nominò una Commissione paritetica, composta da tre Consiglieri del primo Ceto e da tre del secondo, per elaborare una nuova bozza di Regolamento sul rinnovo del Bussolo e su altri problemi, da sottoporre poi all'approvazione del Consiglio Generale. I poteri conferiti ai Commissari erano ampi e andavano dal ripristino delle prassi "passate", all'adozione di misure nuove da adattarsi "alle circostanze de presenti tempi". La Commissione, presieduta da Filippo Maria Savelli, era composta da Cesare Francesconi, Bartolomeo Petrogalli, Domenico Franceschini, Francesco Guerrini e Carlo Vibi. La bozza di Regolamento, riportata per intero alla fine di questo capitolo, i1 6 dicembre del 1743 era pronta e si presume che fosse sottoposta all'esame del Consiglio Generale nella riunione successiva. I sette capitoli di cui si compone, nel loro stile involuto e tra ardite contorsioni concettuali che fanno invidia a un'odalisca, denunciano molti aspetti del costume del tempo. Senza dubbio, ci sarà stata anche la necessità di maggiore trasparenza e di moralizzazione della vita amministrativa, ma certe sassate impietose, scagliate con troppo disordine, sono sospette e sorprendono non poco: "... perché attesa la scarsezza degli uomini intelligenti e capaci e la molteplicità delle persone meno idonee, ne avviene che il più delle volte fannosi risoluzioni poco profittevoli agli interessi pubblici... ". Possiamo concordare sulla "idoneità", dal momento che non tutti sono portati per la vita politica; meno sull'intelligenza che è una dote di più difficile lettura; quanto alla posposizione del bene pubblico al privato, è un problema di etica politica e non di attitudini o di intelligenza. La furbastria ha un albero genealogico lungo e ramificato ed in questo il `700 ha anticipato i tempi. Senza dire che un giudizio del genere, approvato dal Consiglio comunale, si ritorceva con effetto autolesionistico su se stesso ed in particolare sul primo ceto, costituito al massimo da quattro decine di famiglie e sul secondo che ne contava poche di più. Non sappiamo se quel regolamento si applicò veramente. Il resoconto del rinnovo del Bussolo, riportato nel paragrafo precedente, ad esempio, ne è la violazione palese a distanza di soli quarant'anni dalla sua adozione. In quella circostanza, tutte le indicazioni avvennero per "ballottazione", cioè per votazione consiliare, ed era proprio quello che esso vietava, affidando ad una Commissione ristretta di soli tre imbussolatori la scelta dei nomi, con l'obbligo strano di mantenere la massima segretezza. È chiaro che si sarebbe trattato del segreto di Pulcinella, anche in considerazione del fatto che il mercato delle persone "intelligenti e capaci" disponeva di pochi scampoli di rimanenza. L'introduzione di un accorgimento inutile sta forse a significare che 1'ufficializzazione delle quaterne dei Difensori o degli altri incarichi del biennio, sollecitava attese del turno "amico" o più "arrendevole" o comunque del momento più opportuno per effettuare poco commendevoli manovre. Così, affidandoci alla riservatezza degli Imbussolatori, si salvava la forma ma la sostanza rimaneva immutata, come spesso succede tra gli umani, e l'estrazione sarebbe diventata davvero una tombola. Il Regolamento, inoltre, dava per scontata una prassi che a distanza di due secoli appare poco chiara, quando affermava che i quattro Difensori dovevano essere "uno per Sfera". Nel lessico usato, sembra assodato che il termine "Sfera" sia sinonimo di "Ceto" ed i ceti che godevano del diritto elettorale attivo e passivo erano solamente due. Come mai le "Sfere" diventano quattro? L'unica spiegazione plausibile è riposta nel fatto che mentre la prima sfera era molto ristretta ed omogenea perché l'appartenenza richiedeva il solo requisito del "possesso", la seconda era più eterogenea in quanto agli Artisti appartenevano non solo gli artigiani, ma anche i commercianti e i professionisti (medici, chirurghi, farmacisti, veterinari, avvocati, notai, preti, ecc.). Non si può escludere, pertanto, che all'interno di questo Ceto una prassi condivisa e consolidata stabilisse che i tre Difensori spettanti appartenessero ad ognuna delle tre categorie costituenti la "Sfera". Un'altra constatazione che ci convince della non applicazione del nuovo Regolamento sta nel fatto che il Bussolo avrebbe dovuto contenere 17 palle, invece ne furono inserite solamente 10, e non figurano più alcuni incarichi importanti come quello di Ufficiale della Madonna SS.ma della Reggia. La nomina dei "salariati" aveva procurato molte "turbolenze" a causa delle raccomandazioni, un vezzo dalle lontane radici che qualcuno fa risalire alla nostra Religione che ha codificato il ruolo intermediario dei Santi presso Dio (N.d.R.: Avere qualche Santo in Paradiso) e sotto questo profilo occorre riconoscere che le nostre radici religiose sono lontane e resistenti. Per eliminare il vezzo delle raccomandazioni vengono dettate misure severe quanto inutili e inapplicabili poiché è difficile stabilire il limite tra la raccomandazione e la segnalazione dei titoli di capacità e di merito, richiamate dal Regolamento, se non si precisano i sistemi per documentarli. Tanto per finire ricordiamo che le disposizioni regolamentari stabilirono la possibilità di imbussolare "padre e figlio" e "due fratelli", purché in palle diverse "attesa la suddetta mancanza di persone capaci". Non si può certo dire che quei Signori Consiglieri mancassero di autostima. Del resto basta dare uno sguardo all'elenco dei Difensori per accorgerci che gli intelligenti e i capaci appartenevano solo a un paio di decine di famiglie. Adesso si capisce perché quelli bravi erano tanto pochi! RIUNIONE CONSILIARE DELLA COMUNITÀ PER DECIDERE SUL NUOVO BUSSOLO E CAPITOLATO RELATIVO In Dei Nomine Amen - Die 20 Octobris 1743. Convocatum et celebratum fuit publicum et generale Consilium per illustris Comm(unitatis) Insignis Terrae Fractae Perusiae more solito intimati cum interventu, et assistentia per Ill(ustris) Dom. Francisci Ghezzi Commissarii, in quo quidam Consilio interfuerunt infras(criptii)… Illu. Dom. Joseph de Sabelli Caput Officii Laurentius Martinelli Anselmus Donatuti Petrus Ant. Guerrini Ill. Dom. Philippus de Sabellis Franciscus Guerrini Carolus de Vibis Joseph Andreas Milanesi Dom. Franciscus Francisconi Joseph Matthias Cristiani Joseph Bernardinus de Homine Petrus Joseph Lestini Raimundus Rotelli Bartholomeus Petrogalli Caietanus Molinari Laurentius Gigli Philippus Roni Dominicus Franceschini Constantinus Pignani Augustinus Bettelli Franciscus Passalboni Carolus Ant. Francesconi Dominicus Paganelli ... de Consilio... et notum in eo habent ed illud totum representa ; et pro absen. si qui... promittentes. Et omissis aliis de voluntate reperiuntur infrascripta videlicet. Dom. Dominicus Franceschini in aringo eius med. ... dixit.... Intra. Vedendosi questo nostro Consiglio posto in molta confusione attesi i vicendevoli ricorsi fatti da diverse persone circa la Rinnovazione del Bussolo, numero dei Difensori, ed altre cose appartenenti a questo Consiglio, e non potendo fare a meno che questa Comunità non sia per risentirne gravi pregiudizi da questa discrepanza di voleri, sarei di sentimento pro bono pacis, ed in vantaggio del Pubblico et del Privato, che si eleggessero sei persone delle più capaci e dare a questi la facoltà di accomodare le differenze suddette; col darli anche l'arbitrio di rimettere in pristino molte buone e sagge disposizioni del nostro Statuto e rispettivamente de Signori passati Superiori, concedendoli anche la libertà di accomodare tali procedimenti alle circostanze dei presenti tempi e di fare insomma tutto ciò che li parerà opportuno per bon regolamento di questa Comunità con sottoporre poi alla Sag... questa loro... acciò si degni approvarlo e perché abbia la piena forza e debba essere osservato da tutti ed in tal modo credo che si darà fine alle liti e si rimetteranno gli animi in quiete, come tutti desiderano. Rimettendomi... [seguono due righe in latino]. A chi pare e piace di aprire il suddetto Aringo e di dare alli signori Difensori la facoltà di nominare sei persone tre della prima Sfera, tre della seconda in effetto suddetto, dia la palla bianca in favore, e a chi non piace, la negra in contrario. Tunc distribuitis et re... fuerunt reperta nota albe ri dece et nove, et unum nigrum... Post modum vigere... nominarunt... Cesare de Francescani, Bartholomeus Petrogalli, et Philippus de Sabellis, et Dominicus Franceschini, Franciscus Guerrini et Carolus de Vibis. Iterum de... A chi pare e piace di lor signori di approvare gli uomini nominati come sopra e dargli tutte le facoltà necessarie et opportune come sopra, dia la palla bianca in favore e a chi non piace, la negra in contrario. Tunc distribuitie e recollectis de more suffragia fuerunt reperta vota alba favorabilia viginta…" MODO DI FORMARE IL NUOVO BUSSOLO Capitolo I Primieramente, a tenore delle enunciate facoltà, si determina e stabilisce che essendo già determinata l'estrazione delle Palle degli Officiali di questa Comunità un mese prima che termini l'amministrazione delli Difensori estratti nell'ultima Palla, debba radunarsi il Consiglio nel modo e forma che dirassi in appresso ed ivi il Signor Capo d'Offizio dovrà nominare per primo un bussolatore uno della sua Sfera, il secondo e terzo Difensore un altro per ciascuno della sua Sfera, e dandosi il caso che alcuna delle persone nominate non fossero presenti al Consiglio, dovrà immediatamente mandarsi a chiamare da Donzelli ed in caso di legittimo impedimento dovrà nominarsi altro in suo luogo e, stabiliti che saranno gli imbussolatori, dovranno questi, doppo licenziato il Consiglio, rimanere in Palazzo col Signor Commissario e Segretario per formare il nuovo bussolo, quale dovrà rifarsi perpetuamente per soli due anni, sotto pena di nullità, e dovrà farsi di comune consenso, invocato prima l'aiuto dell'Altissimo e prestato il solito giuramento di prescegliere i più atti ed idonei, rimossa ogni privata passione e di tener segreta l'elezione fatta conforme costumasi e ritenuta convenientemente la facoltà al Capo Imbussolatore di prescegliere i Capi, in caso che il secondo e terzo imbussolatore non volessero convenire col primo e richiedessero che si ballottassero per voti le persone da eleggersi. Il Bussolo poi dovrà contenere sei Palle delli Difensori da durare ciascuna mesi quattro; una Palla delli tre Conservatori della Sanità o Consultori della Comunità da durare tutto il biennio; due Palle degli Officiali della Madonna SS.ma della Reggia, da durare un anno l'una; due Palle delli Sindacatori; altre due delli Stimatori Pubblici; altre due delli Portinari; due delli Sindaci, parimente da durare un anno per ciascuna, conforme si è sempre costumato, col fare anche i nomi de Spicciolati. Capitolo Il Delli Difensori e Conservatori della Sanità Dovranno in ogni palla imbussolarsi quattro Difensori cioè uno per Sfera delle persone più capaci e discrete e che possiedono qualche stabile di proprio, giacché nelle presenti circostanze non puol pienamente adempirsi la mente del nostro Statuto che determina che nessuno possa essere eletto Difensore che non possieda almeno 30 di Scovere, determinandosi ancorché oltre alla possidenza debba essere ancora unita la capacità, ad effetto, che siano ben regolati i pubblici affari, il tutto sotto pena della nullità, a tenore del medesimo Statuto. Si dovrà inoltre formare, come si disse, la Palla delli tre Conservatori della Sanità, o Commissari della Comunità, quali dovranno durare per fin che saranno compite le Palle delli Difensori, e questi dovranno sempre essere della prima Sfera, sotto pena di nullità, e persone non imbussolate se sia possibile in altri Offizi, la incombenza dei quali sarà di intervenire al Consiglio tutte le volte che saranno invitati, e di sopra intendere alla custodia delle porte in tempi di contagi e sospetti, di attendere alla restaurazione delle mura, ponti e fonti con l'assenso però dei Difensori, sotto pena a quelli che ricusassero di comparire al loro Uffizio d'uno scudo per ciascuna volta da applicarsi dal Signor Commissario, non essendo scusati dal legittimo impedimento dichiarandosi inoltre che non potranno gli Imbussolatori sotto la pena suddetta aggiungere alcuna persona al numero dei Consiglieri, né mutarle dalle loro Sfere e gradi ma solo sia lecito agli stessi Imbussolatori l'imbussolarsi per loro in caso di mancanza di persone. Capitolo III Delli Consiglieri particolari delli Difensori Per miglior provedimento degli affari pubblici si determina e stabilisce che ogni Difensore debba avere il suo Consigliere e questi debbano essere quelle persone medesime che sono stati Difensori nella Palla immediatamente antecedente, per essere essi meglio informati dei pubblici interessi e dandosi il caso che nella prima Palla che si estrae finito il Consiglio, uscisse per Difensore alcuno delli Difensori della Palla antecedente, in tal caso anche il suo Consigliere debba proseguire nel suo officio per altri quattro mesi, se pure questo accidente non si dasse in uno dei tre Conservatori della Sanità nel qual caso dovrà surrogarsi dalli Signori Difensori altro nel suo luogo. Il che dovrassi sempre osservare quando per accidente o per mancanza di Soggetti una delle persone fosse imbussolata in Offici contemporaneamente. L’incombenza poi per tutti suddetti Consiglieri sarà di dire il loro parere in tutti li consigli dopo che dal Segretario sarannosi proposti gl'affari da risolversi e non potranno consigliare fuori del luogo destinato e se prima non averanno prestato il solito giuramento de bene et fidate liber consulendo e se non volessero consigliare vi potranno essere forzati sotto pena d'uno scudo d'applicarsi come sopra, restando dopo di loro la facoltà alli Conservatori della Sanità di dire il loro parere approvando il sentimento di Consiglieri secondo le sarà dato dalla coscienza, sempre però prestando il suddetto giuramento, senza di cui non devrassi scrivere il sentimento e consiglio veruno. Capitolo IV Del modo di convocare e celebrare il Consiglio Perché attesa la scarsezza degl'uomini intelligenti e capaci e la molteplicità delle persone meno idonee, ne avviene che il più delle volte fannosi risoluzioni poco profittevoli agl'interessi pubblici, si determina e stabilisce a tenore delli statuti e disposizioni, che in tutte le occorrenze della Comunità debba convocarsi il Consiglio composto di dodici Persone ed inoltre con l'intervento del Signor Commissario, e questi saranno li quattro Difensori, li quattro Consiglieri, li tre Conservatori della Sanità, ed il Camerlengo del Pubblico e questo Consiglio avrà tutte le facoltà di risolvere, determinare, decidere e far tutto ciò che puol fare il Consiglio Generale fuorché in materia di nuove imposizioni, prezzi d'Abbondanza, introduzione di litigi ed altri gravissimi emergenti per i quali dovrassi convocare il Consiglio delle 42 persone, senza intervento del Signor Commissario a solo fine di ben digerire le materie d'importanza da discorrersi nel Generale Consiglio, e tutto ciò a tenore di diverse risoluzioni fatte nei Pubblici Consigli ed approvate dalli Presidi di Perugia fin dal 1620, come si raccoglie da libri dei suddetti Consigli e dallo Statuto rispettivamente a quali si rimanda. Per convocare poi e celebrare validamente il suddetto Consiglio si determina che il giorno avanti debbano per ordine delli Signori Difensori invitarsi dalli Donzelli tutti quelli che dovranno intervenire e dandosi l'accidente che qualcuno fosse legittimamente impedito, li Signori Difensori avranno la facoltà di surrogare un altro della medesima Sfera nel luogo della persona impedita il che parimente dovrà farsi tute le volte che nel Consiglio dovesse trattarsi dell'interesse particolare d'alcuna delle 42 Persone sopra nominate, non volendo che la persona interessata possa in nessun conto intervenire al Consiglio sotto pena di nullità del medesimo a tenore delle suddette statutarie disposizioni. Stabilito poi che debba farsi all'ora determinata il giorno seguente il Consiglio, dovrà la sera innanzi dalli Signori Difensori farsi dar ordine al Campanaro del Pubblico che suoni all'Ave Maria, senz'altro segno, mezz'ora prima dell'ora determinata per il Consiglio si diano dodici tocchi alla Campana del Pubblico, che sarà il segno della convocazione del Consiglio delli 12 lasciando nel solito stile il modo di convocare il Consiglio Generale, come costumasi di presente. In caso poi che le persone che dovranno intervenire al Consiglio delli 12 ricusassero d'intervenirvi all'ora determinata, non avendo legittimo impedimento da approvarsi dal Signor Commissario si determina e stabilisce che debbano essere puniti nella pena di uno scudo di moneta romana da applicarsi dal detto Signor Commissario, nella qual pena parimente incorreranno quelli che non avendo riguardo al luogo e alle persone ardissero discorrere temerariamente profferendo parole ingiuriose contro alcuno dei presenti in Consiglio, qual pena dovrà duplicarsi in caso che l'ingiuria fosse fatta ad alcuno delli Difensori, volendo che si discorra con tutta la modestia e solo degli affari pubblici nel luogo destinato e non altrove, tenuto conto di ogni umano rispetto, conforme ordina il suddetto Statuto al quale si rimanda. Attesa poi la suddetta mancanza di persone capaci si determina e stabilisce a tenore degli ordini ultimamente emanati da Mons. Enriquez Giud. Dep. della Sagra Consulta, che possano imbussolarsi due fratelli, padre e figlio d'una medesima casa, in diverse Palle però, e che questi nel Consiglio delli 12 abbiano unitamente il voto per non diminuire in modo alcuno il numero dei voti che dorassi sempre mantenere integro; determinando che nella ballottazione il partito s'intenda vinto per voti otto favorevoli e non altrimenti. Capitolo V Delli salariati Perché nel elezione di Medico, Chirurgo, Predicatori ed altri salariati sono in questa Comunità varie volte accadute varie turbolenze ed inconvenienti a cagione delle raccomandazioni procurate dai medesimi concorrenti, si determina e stabilisce che non possa essere ammesso alcuno a pubblici uffizi quando voglia impetrarli con loro commendatizie, ma si abbia solo riguardo a requisiti e meriti del concorrente, e perciò ne meno alcuno del Consiglio possa far pratica per unire li voti dovendo ciascuno votare a tenore de dettami della propria coscienza, avendo così altre volte decretato li Signori Superiori con lettere; a quali essi determinandosi in oltre che li salariati, dovendosi riproporre, si faccia due mesi prima che spiri l'anno dal giorno della loro elezione, acciò rimanendo esclusi possa la Commissione provvedersi d'altro soggetto che presti la debita servitù a se stessa ed agli abitanti del luogo. Capitolo VI Della rinnovazione di alcune pene Si stabilisce in oltre, che qualunque persona commettesse fraude in pregiudizio di privativa, che gode questo Pubblico nei suoi proventi, o de i detti loro appaltatori, possa e debba dal Consiglio de i 12, coll'attestato d'un testimonio degno di fede, procedere unitamente col Signor Commissario a privare il suddetto defraudatore di Medico, Chirurgo, Maestro di Scuola e d'ogni grazia e favore che potesse concedere questo luogo e ciò a onore di quanto anno altre volte stabilito li Signori Superiori, qual pena dovrà anche infliggersi contro quelli che senza legittimo impedimento e privi di sufficiente privilegio, vi ricusassero di accettare gl'Uffizi Pubblici, non essendo giusto che riceva benefizi da questa Comunità chi si mostra ingrato in servirla nelle sue occorrenze. Capitolo VII Del acompagno del Magistrato nelle pubbliche funzioni Si determina finalmente che in congiunzione, cioè in occasione, delle solennità dei nostri SS. Avvocati (Santi Protettori del paese), ed altre solite Sagre Funzioni debba sempre portarsi il Magistrato in Corpo a visitare le chiese consuete, ancorché sia sospesa quella ricognizione che era solita darsi in tal congiunzione, cioè occasione, e acciò a tenore del costume sin ora osservato e molto più perché non si manchi di prestare il debbito onore all'Altissimo e nostri SS. Avvocati e Protettori e in tal congiuntura debbano i salariati e Consiglieri necessariamente intervenire all'accompagno del Magistrato, assieme con gl'altri uomini della Comunità con abito e ferraiolo negro e con quella maggior decenza che li sarà permesso, altrimenti potranno essere rigettati indietro e puniti ad arbitrio del Signor Commissario e ciò per maggiore decoro del Pubblico e di tutto il Paese. Quali capitoli come sopra stabiliti approvati che benignamente saranno dalla Sagra Consulta, vogliamo che siano inviolabilmente osservati, né sia lecito ad alcuno il mutarli senza il preventivo assenso della detta Sagra Consulta e del Generale e Particolare Consiglio. In fede li abbiamo sottoscritti di nostro carattere adì 6 dicembre del 1743. Io Filippo Maria Savelli Deputato mano propria Io Cesare Francesconi Deputato ma. pr. Io Bartolomeo Petrogalli Deputato ma. pr . Io Domenico Franceschini Deputato ma. pr . Io Francesco Guerrini Deputato ma. pr. Io Carlo Vibi Deputato ma. pr. [Seguono poi sei righe che si riferiscono alla stesura del documento stilate da un notaio, quasi sicuramente il notaio Burelli, e datate 17 giugno 1794, cioè 51 anni dopo. Esse sono siglate con il timbro "IBBN" che è quello di Burelli (Iohannes Baptista Burelli Notaio)]. FONTI: “Umbertide nel secolo XVIII” di Renato Codovini e Roberto Sciurpa – Comune di Umbertide, 2003 Il sistema elettorale comunale

The Gregorian Cadastre The Gregorian Cadastre is a general geometric particle land registry of the Papal State: started by Pius VII in 1816, after the Napoleonic experience, it is defined in this way because it was completed by Gregory XVI in 1835. In 1816 Pius VII established the Congregation of Land Registers: the central body that was to establish uniform rules and procedures for the estimation of rural and urban funds. In the Papal State there was no uniform measure and it was decided to use the metric system introduced by the French system rather than the more complex “Roman rubbio”, made up of 3703 square architectural pipes. On the site of the "Imago" project that carried out the digitization of the Gregorian Cadastre it is specified "The linear measure adopted was therefore the census barrel corresponding to the meter and divided into 10 palms (dm), equal to 100 ounces (cm) or 1000 minutes ( mm). For the surfaces, the square of 10 boards (corresponding to the hectare, i.e. 10,000 m2), the board of 1000 square pipes (equal to 1000 m2) and the square pipe (1 m2) were adopted, in turn divided into palms , square ounces and minutes. Compared to the French period, the names changed but not the substance. " In addition to the rural funds, the mapping ("Map") of urban centers usually built at a scale of 1: 2000 assumes considerable importance, together with these two further copies on a reduced scale at 1: 4000 or 1: 8000 (the " Mappette "), with the original scale reproduction of the "block" or inhabited centers, placed in the margin or attached. The cadastral parcels were depicted in the "Map" ed identified by a number assigned to it within a unique numerical progression for each map. This was then described in the land registry or brogliardo, which also indicated the name of the owner. These are the pages web del with the Gregorian Cadastre and the "brogliardo" with the territory of the city of Umbertide after the Napoleonic age. Clicking here opens the page of the Gregorian Cadastre of the State Archives of Rome, at this point choose the "box" Perugia ", highlighted in the image in red, and then click on" Fratta "... so you can do it in analogous way for Pietralunga, Montone etc; alternatively click directly on the image below in this way the "Fratta" viewer of the "imago" project will open immediately, which has digitized the parts with the main towns and cities of the Gregorian Cadastre. To see the "brogliardo" with the number of the parcel visible on the map of the Gregorian Cadastre with the names of the respective ones owners and some property description items just click here to see the relative "brogliardo " always of the Cadastre of the "Ecclesiastical State". The Gregorian cadastre arrived considerably late, almost a century, compared to the census experiences of a large part of Italy. The move to this new tool hides a political struggle between the forces they wanted control of wealth and property information. The land registry, says Renato Zangheri, in his " Cadastre and ownership of the land ", is " an irreplaceable tool for ascertaining the status of the" ownership "of the land, which for many centuries was the fundamental means of production, the source of wealth and the main basis of power .... It is a rich and treacherous tool that must be used with caution but can provide abundant results. In Italy it is usually more refined, expressive and complicated than elsewhere. "Its structuring hides heated struggles over how to own land and pay taxes. In the rest of Italy, one of the targets among the owners of the property was the related property. to ecclesiastical institutions. Here, in the Papal State, the problem was different and less urgent because the Church held power as well as property. Sources: - Renato Zangheri, Cadastre and land ownership. Small Einaudi Library. Turin 1980. - Imago II project, 1997-2000, of the State Archives of Rome: http://www.cflr.beniculturali.it/Gregoriano/mappe.php?fbclid=IwAR3SPsbhE0yDSOzPk5MrT3LVf77oKvYwwqFhUhZzDbdA4DHi4DWrz-9JHdA Renato Zangheri " (the Land Registry) ... it was very often a sign of contradiction, the terrain of political and class clashes " Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com

1915 - ELECTRICITY ARRIVES IN UMBERTIDE From candle to light bulb by Amedeo Massetti and Mario Tosti By the light of a flame In the nineteenth century, going around at night in Fratta was not at all easy, especially when there was no moon. Our ancestors took care to establish the rules in the Statute of Fratta. "We establish and order that no person should go to the castle at night from after the third sign of the bell rang by the town crier, to one hour after sunset for the time in which a miserere is recited, under penalty of 10 soldi per each person and each time. Those who bring lights or embers lit in the vicinity of the house or shop are excluded from the penalty; or doctors or others who brought medicines for the sick or who went to look for the midwife; or even the bakers or whoever brought or brought back the bread from the oven; or for other legitimate causes approved by the podestà. Anyone found by the podestà or by the secret guards with the light or the ember that has gone out against their will, by the wind or other accident, is also excluded from the penalty, provided they are under oath. " Since it was not very convenient for everyone to take their torch for a walk, after a few centuries it was agreed to install fixed night lamps in the most popular places in the historic center of Fratta. Only four or five oil lamps illuminated the darkness of the alleys in the early nineteenth century, as scrupulous and attentive guardians who watched the intimacy of the family and covered the profiles of the houses with soft and suffused light. But they too quickly went out and the faint lights of the few icons, embedded in the walls, which the piety of the faithful lit up every now and then, remained on. In the year 1845, the Frattisan nights were lit by only seven oil lamps. One of them, that of the Piazza dell'Orologio, was larger than the others, with a "more modern" crystal tube; it made more light and consumed more oil. According to the lighting man, it required more work than all the others put together ... The halo of faint light cast by the flames should have created a serene and romantic atmosphere. The maintenance work was less romantic, since the Contractor had to "prepare the street lamps, turn them on and dim them by climbing them by means of a ladder which, being contrary to sound police laws, was a burden to the Contractor himself ... All for 62 scudi a year. " At the end of the century there were 28 street lamps, but the town had also grown and the brightness remained very dim. They remained lit all night only on days of celebration or danger; at the first light of dawn, the man in charge of the street lamps made the rounds to turn them off in order to save the oil, which was at his expense. The arrival of electricity With Perugia, Sansepolcro and Città di Castello rejoicing in the light of the bulbs for some years, Umbertide could not afford to remain in the dark. We began to talk about this need in 1912: the soul of the initiative was Francesco Andreani , a lawyer of great value, elected mayor of Umbertide after the elections of 30 January 1910, which determined an epochal turning point in the Municipality. A preliminary study had been made, probably inspired by the 39 oil lamps currently in existence: perhaps due to the concern about the costs of the new light source, an attempt was made not to take a step longer than the leg, assuming the installation of 35 lamps. . Walking along the way, the appetite increased: the originally planned lamps increased to triple, as shown by the session of the City Council of 24 July 1912, which represented the first formal act towards the goal of electric lighting. Therefore the entire fee charged to the Municipality swelled to £ 4,000, considered by the administrators to be not too burdensome, compared to the great benefits for the country. After three years of ups and downs, on 21 December 1915, with the First World War in progress, the Società Anonima Elettricità Umbra brought electricity to Umbertide. The price of electricity for private individuals was that charged in the city of Perugia by the Concessionaire itself: 60 cents per kWh, when the average hourly earnings of a worker was 25 cents. In the end, 104 light points were called to illuminate the nights of our grandparents and great-grandparents. If, at first, the new form of energy was greeted with amazement and excitement, the shortcomings of the revolutionary service soon cooled the enthusiasm, which turned everywhere into lively protests from the public and the irony of the press. Even the people of Umbria unleashed strong complaints, so that on 9 August 1916 the mayor was forced to take a pen and paper to beat his fists on the manager's table, with almost poetic tones: "It has been noted, and the public expresses complaints, that some time the switching on of the public lighting is carried out in the evening when darkness is advanced and it is switched off before the light of dawn is manifested. Although the expression of the contract regarding the switch-on and switch-off times is a bit vague, please, however, SV Ill. to arrange that this expression is not interpreted in a strictly unilateral way by the employees of the Company but with a criterion of fair breadth. Trusting, thank you and respect. ". The Company, after a week, replied hastily that the hours were the same for all the other municipalities, including that of Perugia, and that no one had complained. However, he left a crack open, proposing a meeting with the Director. And the Mayor had to take the bait, to no avail. Electricity in every home In 1931 the Società Anonima Elettricità Umbra was absorbed by UNES, which took over the service in Umbertide, with the cabin operator Armando Settembre, helped by Romeo Guasticchi and Mariano Manuali. With the growing possibilities offered by electricity, the City developed the capabilities to build and operate new plants. In this task the engineer Egino Villarini played a fundamental role. In fact, for having been part, as secretary, of the National Liberation Committee, he was well known and appreciated in the Municipality; therefore it was natural that in the first years of the postwar period his collaboration was requested and obtained. The opportunity arose when the then manager of the maintenance sector, Mario Tacconi, asked him to examine some estimates for the modernization of the public lighting systems in Via Roma and Via Garibaldi. It was immediately evident how exaggerated the prices were; therefore it would have been much more advantageous to carry out the work economically, with the means and staff of the institution, avoiding tenders. Since then a collaboration relationship was born that would last until the end of the century and beyond. The engineer, having made the calculations, took care of the procurement of materials, obtaining favorable prices thanks to the contacts he already had with suppliers. But to make the connections, a collaborator was needed to take care of the manual work. The choice fell on Giuseppe Tarragoni, a former tailor, then employed in the Municipality of Umbertide as a roadster. From that moment the couple became inseparable. Arranged via Roma and via Garibaldi, via Cibo, via Soli, piazza Marconi, part of the historic center and more were also modernized. Giuseppe learned quickly and well, coming to be hired as an electrician. Electricity accelerated the transition from the old to the new: the symbol of the transition can be well represented by the electric pumps that the engineer Villarini mounted on the treks of a landowner, together with the wooden cabins for the electrical panels, so as to be able to make the shuttles from one point of the Tiber to the other to irrigate the fields. The collaboration of engineer Villarini with the Municipality, which lasted more than thirty years, ended with the lifting of the waters in Monte Acuto. Reached the maximum peak, the time has come for a well-deserved rest. CAINO, the ferryman from oil lamps to electric lights Giuseppe Bettoni, known as Caino , was a knife grinder. To round off he had accepted the task of the Municipality to turn the street lamps on and off. In order to carry out his function, early in the morning Cain wandered through the streets and, either because of that mocking spirit that animated him, or because he did not feel completely alone, he loved to call his acquaintances who lived in the streets where he passed. So he shouted: "Gigia! Stay in bed that nengue!" or "People, alzative 'ché there' l sole" , even if it was not true. In short, he was a precursor of the meteorological service, but with surprise. With the arrival of electricity, the role of dispenser of light by means of a lever, allowed him to gain undying notoriety in the village. In fact, when the light went out, at the same time everyone's thoughts went to him, the only one able to do the miracle: fiat lux! A few minutes of darkness were enough for the common plea to be intoned inside every house: "Cain, the light will burn!" . And if the time was prolonged, the comments spread from window to window: “What is Cain doing tonight! He is sleeping?" , "It is up to you to see, that if he plays with Martina (his wife)!" . The frequent miracle of the defeated darkness, thanks to his intervention on the main switch placed on the external wall of the Town Hall in Via Grilli, had made him deserve a popular refrain that imagined him wandering among the stars of the firmament competing with his street lamps to lighten the night: “I see the moon / I see the stars / I see Cain / making pancakes” . 'THE CUCCO Raffaele Bracalenti, known only as ' l Cucco , was built between the forge and the anvil in the dark cave of the municipal workshop in Via Soli. Particularly devoted to autarchy, perhaps due to unconscious plagiarism suffered during the dictatorship, he had even built, refusing to buy it in the shop, an umbrella with a metal hat shaped like a hammer and fixed at the top to a water pipe from three quarters of an inch. And woe to anyone who thought it uncomfortable! But what does a blacksmith have to do with electricity? The truth is that Cucco had a particular passion for light bulbs, especially for burned out ones, which he considered a precious brass mine, at zero kilometers. To exploit it, he had set up a rigorous procedure, based on a brass pact with the maintenance worker: do not throw away the broken bulbs, but return them to the workshop, an essential condition for having as many new ones in exchange. It is not known what happened to the glass; but inevitably each butt of the old lamps ended up in a basket which, having reached the optimal batch for casting, was emptied into the crucible above the forge. The molten mass was poured into a plaster mold in order to cool in the form of a tube, from which Raffaele, after a day's work, produced a tap for the water of the public fountains. Two birds with one stone: cremator of light bulbs and manufacturer of taps! ZUMBOLA The collection of bills could not fail to be entrusted to Gino Sonaglia, known as Zumbola , who had all the ideal requirements. In fact, with his resume as a collector of rabbit and lamb skins, he knew all the heads of families in the suburbs and in the countryside; with the people of the capital, being a friend of everyone, he knew their stories and residences; moreover, there was no dance party missing, a precious opportunity to get to know the youth. In 1953, UNES jumped at his candidacy as the ideal public relation. To the knowledge of the clientele and the ability to take it by the side of the hair, he added the natural gift of a smiling gaze, reinforced by an intriguing mustache: avant-garde of a jovial and expansive character that captured friendship. Zumbola was the best way to lightly face the thankless task of asking for money for something you don't eat, like light, even from those who didn't have a penny. Gino returned the trust with the utmost commitment. The collection procedure began in the family, where his wife Elvira and their children Luciana and Zumbolino jr fanned the bills on the kitchen table, to group them in order of street, hamlet, country words. With the bag on his shoulder, Gino tackled the tour, every month for companies, every two for families. To take the debtors with caution, preparing them for bloodletting, he did not ring the bell or the knocker of the door, but announced himself from a distance with his powerful voice, interspersed with whistles that broke the eardrums, singing their name with cheerful metrics. From the "Calendar of Umbertide 2015" Ed. Municipality of Umbertide - 2015 Concept and editorial project: Adriano Bottaccioli ; Texts: Adriano Bottaccioli , Mario Tosti , Amedeo Massetti , Fabio Mariotti. The texts on this page are excerpts from the book: "From the candle to the light bulb" by Amedeo Massetti and Mario Tosti, Local Publishing Group - Digital Editor srl - Umbertide (Pg), also containing ideas taken from the book "Umbertide in the nineteenth century" by Renato Codovini and Roberto Sciurpa - Gesp Editrice, Città di Castello, 2001.

Serra Partucci 24 GIUGNO 1944 LE VITTIME / THE VICTIMS Natale Centovalli, anni 30; Domenico Černic, anni 26; Bruno Ciribilli, anni 20; Giuseppe Radicchi, anni 17; Mario Radicchi anni 24. Il massacro di Serra Partucci - voce di Paola Avorio 00:00 / 02:37 The massacre of Serra Partucci - voice by Paola Avorio 00:00 / 03:06 24 GIUGNO 1944 Allineati lungo il muro dietro il cippo che ricorda la strage, il 24 giugno del 1944 sono stati fucilati cinque giovani. Il giorno precedente un giovane contadino della zona, approfittando del prevedibile imminente arrivo degli alleati da Perugia, liberata tre giorni prima, aveva sparato ad un soldato tedesco, ferendolo ad un piede, per appropriarsi della sua motocicletta Per rappresaglia, una quindicina di soldati SS hanno rastrellato le vittime alle prime luci dell’alba, in modo da sorprenderle nel sonno. Nel casolare dei Radicchi, a mezza costa della collina, hanno prelevato i figli di Santino, Mario di 24 anni e Giuseppe di 17. Hanno proseguito verso questo luogo, Vocabolo Lago, dove abitavano i Centovalli. In casa erano tutti svegli, pronti per andare a mietere il grano in un campo vicino. I militari sono entrati. Hanno chiesto pane e lardo. Dopo essersi rifocillati hanno fatto uscire Natale, 30 anni, ed il fratello Quinto, 24. Per rispettare la regola di 5 condannati a morte per un tedesco ferito, mancava la quinta vittima. Hanno deciso di andarlo a prendere nella chiesa di San Giovanni, in cima alla collina, che era gremita da fedeli per la ricorrenza di San Giovanni Battista, festa patronale a Serra Partucci. Hanno scelto Domenico Černic, 26 anni, un ragazzone sloveno, forse perché si era messo in evidenza parlando bene il tedesco Al ritorno dalla chiesa, il quinto prigioniero è stato fatto accostare agli altri quattro. Fra di loro, Quinto era senza una mano, che aveva perso in un trinciaforaggi. Domenico ha fatto notare ai tedeschi che in quelle condizioni mai avrebbe potuto sparare. È stato individuato come quinto condannato Bruno Ciribilli, vent’anni, che stava passando per caso. I cinque innocenti sono stati fatti allineare lungo il muro. Senza proferire parola, l’ufficiale ha fatto un cenno rapido con il braccio. Sono partite raffiche di mitra. Dopo qualche attimo, cinque colpi hanno dato il colpo di grazia, ristabilendo il silenzio. Senza indugio, il manipolo dei soldati si è dileguato rapidamente, quasi di corsa. Missione compiuta! 24 June 1944 Lined up along the wall behind the memorial stone commemorating the massacre, five young people were shot on 24th June 1944. Three days earlier the allied troops had arrived in Perugia and On the 23rd, a young farmer from the area, taking advantage of the imminent arrival of the allies from Perugia shot a German soldier, wounding him in the foot, in order to steal his motorcycle In retaliation, the same night about fifteen SS soldiers rounded up the victims at first light, so as to catch them sleeping . In the Radicchi farmhouse, halfway up the hill, they picked up Santino's sons, Mario, 24, and Giuseppe, 17. They continued towards Vocabolo Lago, where the Centovallis lived. Everyone in the house was awake, ready to go and harvest wheat in a nearby field. The soldiers entered. They asked for bread and lard. After having refreshed themselves, they brought out Natale, 30 years old, and his brother Quinto, 24. To comply with the rule of 5 sentenced to death for a wounded German, the fifth victim was missing. They decided to pick a victim in the church of San Giovanni, at the top of the hill, which was full of people because of San Giovanni Battista Celebrations, the patronal feast in Serra Partucci. They chose Domenico Černic, 26 years old, a big Slovenian boy, perhaps because he had stood out by speaking German well Upon returning from church, the fifth prisoner was brought alongside the other four. Among them, Quinto was without a hand, which he had lost in a fodder shredder. Domenico pointed out to the Germans that he would never have been able to shoot in those conditions. Bruno Ciribilli, twenty years old, who was occasionally passing by was identified as the fifth convict. The five innocents were lined up along the wall. Without saying a word, the officer quickly waved his arm. Machine gun fire began. After a few moments, five shots delivered the final blow, re-establishing silence. Without hesitation, the handful of soldiers quickly disappeared, almost running. Mission accomplished! Testo tratto da: Mario Tosti, Cinque cipressi, Digital editor, 2014. Voce di Paola Avorio Immagine di sfondo: opera di Antonio Renzini: "L'eccidio di Serra Partucci" Un progetto a cura di Mario Tosti, Unitre di Umbertide, il Centro Culturale San Francesco, Umbertidestoria, con il Patrocinio del Comune di Umbertide; con la collaborazione di Pietro Taverniti, Massimo Pascolini, Sergio Bargelli, Corrado Baldoni, Francesco Deplanu, Sergio Magrini Alunno, Antonio Renzini, Luca Silvioni, Romano Vibi. Help us remember umbertidestoria@gmail.com EH Carr "Change is certain. Progress is not "